Discovery on Paradiso
by warmaster23
Summary: Warhammer 40,000: A Death Korps Grenadier lands on Paradiso, an Eldar maiden world under attack by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Unbeknownst to him, a Howling Banshee foresees a vision while fighting the Chaos powers. Will a relationship develop and together cooperate to stop Chaos from spreading? Or will they continue to fight each other and let Chaos consume? R/R Plz.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first upload on FanFiction. I would glady hear what the viewers have to say. Unfortunately my knowledge of Eldar is a bit rusty, but I would be happy for views to share their views and opinions. I regularly update the chapters to make more the large amounts of information to be more fitting in the story. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter 1: Unusual News

Grenadier Corporal Wolfram "Wolf" Klaus cannot remember how long he was on the planet Aluphine Prime. Two years? Three years? All he could recount of his deployment was that his regiment, the 5th Krieg Siege Regiment was sent to the Segmentum Tempestus region along with other Imperial Guard regiments to re-conquer Aluphine from the traitorous cultlists. Wolf was amused because the fact was that Krieg regiments were all too willing to request deployments all over the Imperium, unlike most regiments who would rather wait for someone to order them to go somewhere. The fact was that Krieg soldiers were an entirely new breed of Imperial Guardsmen. Their homeworld, Krieg, was now a Death World from an atomic purging because of the rebellions 1,000 years ago. They were fatalistic and saw their life-service to the Emperor as an act of penance against the Imperium's enemies. The men of the Death Korps always had suffered the most casualties in every campaign they had participated in. They win through the applications of overwhelming force, grim sacrifice, inhuman endurance, bravery, and their constant belief in victory. Most of all, to the Emperor. Krieg soldiers were so disciplined that their commissars rarely enforced their purpose to the troops. Other Guard commanders were wary of the seeming zombie-like characteristics in fighting. Nevertheless, no one can question the Korps' ability to become the fearless vanguard of the Emperor's Imperial Guard; the ultimate shock armies. Their siege and attritional warfare capabilities are indispensable for the Siege of Aluphine Prime, but most of all to the Imperium.

Grenadier Corporal Wolf was attached to the designated 1st Grenadier squad of the Grenadier Platoon, 1st Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Krieg Siege Regiment of the 1st Line Korps of the 25th Siege Army. His unit was located on the West of the Chaos-held capital city. This wasn't his first time on the frontlines, having served midway in the Siege of Vraks to the end and then another deployment to Aluphine. So far the Aluphine siege was becoming very similar to the Vraks campaign, but Wolf only saw killing the Emperor's enemies as the only thing that mattered. The earth beneath Wolf shook as the Earthshakers and Medusa Siege Guns fired their hourly routine of pounding the enemy to hell. Soon the Leman Russ tanks, the super-heavies, and the Titans followed suit. So far both sides have been unable to break the deadlock, which was pleasing to the Krieg commanders. Wolf observed the shelling from his trench that he shared with fellow members of his squad. In front laid No Man's Land. The massed amounts of barbed wire and land mines extended for miles in front of the Krieg lines. The entire ground between the Guard and the Traitors were pockmarked with craters, dud shells, destroyed vehicles, and innumerable amount of bodies. Many of the engineers relished the chance to see the Traitors come out of their city to attack and then be eviscerated sheer firepower of the mines and barbed wired. The gunners longed the chance to see their enemy being blown up to hell and the infantrymen eagerly waited the opportunity to meet them with fire and the bayonet. Wolf hoped for that chance as well.

Being a grenadier was somewhat of an honor for Wolf. He had served as a normal guardsman and showed courage during a Traitor blitz on Vraks, as he fought Chaos cultlists in hand-to-hand combat as the rest of his squad were slowly being killed off by hellspawn of the Blood God. He was the only one to survive and the colonel in charge of the 5th Siege personally bequeathed him as a watchmaster and then quickly to a grenadier. They are unlike the normal elite Stormtroopers, because they use their experience and survival as a school for others and themselves. However this was not a promotion, because wearing the skull-mask of the grenadiers means that the soldier is already dead. The casualty rates of the grenadiers are staggering. It was because through grit and determination Wolf was able to survive long enough in the elite. Most of the time Wolf imagined himself getting killed over and over again and managed to come out alive. Only the Emperor knew how long Wolf was going to survive.

"Hey Wolf something is happening at company command, I think the colonel is personally having a meeting with the officers and NCOs in the platoon," said a fellow grenadier.

Wolf stopped midway of his combat routine inside the muddy trench. Really? The colonel? Thought Wolf. He was busy maintaining his hellgun and sharpening his bayonet with a whetstone. While he was cleaning the hellgun, he was reciting the litanies to calm the Machine Spirit inside. The bayonet-sword was a priority for Wolf, because the bayonet was THE essential tool for all Krieg soldiers, and the maxim was indoctrinated into Wolf when he was younger. To not clean the bayonet would be seen as a shame to all Death Korps. Again, Wolf returned to reality and quickly did touch-ups on his weapons.

"In a minute…there! Finished!" Wolf announced as he sheathed his sword-bayonet and carried his weapon out of the trench. He climbed up out the trench and rain slowly pattered down on the smoldering battlefield. Wolf walked up the trench steps to the surface and at the same time, the Earthshakers and Medusa Siege Guns were firing their hourly dosage of shells; the ground shook and the smell of ordnance saturated the regiment's position.

"Throne Wolf, you cleaned that Hellgun for the second time today," replied the grenadier Franz as they walked.

"I know Franz, it's because of the Hellgun. I'm not a fan of this gun, rather I prefer the Lucius-pattern. By the way, how is Watchmaster Moewitz holding up?". Wolf was mentioning the 1st Squad's senior NCO.

Franz stopped in his tracks and spoke to Wolf face-to-face, "He got knocked around pretty hard yesterday when our squad went on patrol in the Wastelands. Damn Traitors had an autocannon among the dead and shot up the Moewitz's right leg.

"Aye I remember, the traitor patrol probing on our lines. At least they went back to hell when a mortar round hit them square on."

"Huh, lucky hit," grunted Franz.

Wolf and Franz followed a steady stream of NCOs and officers to the command bunker. After some time Wolf thought this meeting was strange and wondered if his comrade shared the same sentiment. Perturbed, he asked his question.

"Franz, do you not think this meeting is a bit unusual? Because of the colonel addressing the NCOs and officers personally? Usually it was the captain's duty to do so."

"Ah Wolf, you know as well I as I know that no matter how we question and ponder on such things, the outcome is going to stay the same. We march to war to fight in the Emperor's name."

"Aye," acknowledged Wolf. They did not speak for a while and silently progressed to the bunker.

The two comrades continued marching towards the command bunker and soon others joined them on the way. Many Krieg soldiers were attired differently due to their specific roles in the regiment. But looks do not matter, because they still wear the gas mask, which is considered a second skin for all men of Krieg. Wolf observed Artillery officers, Lieutenants, Watchmasters, and even a couple of Ridemasters of the Death Riders! 'Whatever is going on it is going to be some news,' thinks Wolf. The men shuffled inside silently inside the cool interior of the bunker and waited for the colonel.

The bunker was underground and was large enough to accommodate the 60 seniors of the rank-and-file. It was a small group of men assembled in front of the colonel. The colonel was an impressive figure, but simple: A tall man with a steel cuirass with an officer sash across the chest and a ornate helm whose design was based from the old Prussic style of Old Terra. His trench coat was of simple hide, but was ruined due to the elements and his ceremonial sword at his side. His outfit lacked any regalia, which men of the Korps recognized the uselessness of medals. The company captain with his retinue and the colonel's entourage made Wolf realize the 1st Company was in for a surprise.

The colonel finally stood and announced to the assembled men, " At ease."

Immediately the men relaxed, with their hands behind their backs and Wolf was still wondering what was the briefing going to be. Wolf thought of multiple possible scenarios: An all-out assault by the 3rd Platoon? Was the colonel going to assign men for a special raid? Another unit was going to relieve our position? What was it?

The colonel observed the men and spoke in his solemn tone.

"Men of Krieg, I understand a briefing similar to this is usually given to your company commander, but I have decided to give the message myself."

A moment of silence passed and the colonel continued.

"I have some news to share and this was surprising, especially to my staff and I. The 1st Company will be transferred to another planet in need of the Guard's attention. The reason we know from the Lord-General is that a number of Chaos raids are increasing and already they had laid waste on a number of worlds close to the Segmentum Solar. The 1st Company will not be the only one to leave; elements fron the entire 25th Army are re-deployed to the unknown destination. Assumingly, other Krieg regiments are also deployed for this incoming campaign. Why we are going leaving in designated units I have no idea, but I trust the Lord-General's decision on the matter. I am afraid I cannot give much information once all forces are in transit to the destination."

Wolf sensed displeasure amongst his comrades, but the masks had covered any sort of visible emotion. He felt there was more to it, but he did not know. It was a feeling in his gut.

The colonel continued.

"The company will leave in 5 hours at 1800 hours at the Braska Landing. Are there any questions?"

The silence emitted in the room.

"All right. Dismissed."

The men saluted and turned around one-by-one out the door and up to the surface. Wolf knows the questions by the men will start to rise, but they would be suppressed by Korps' suppressive mental conditioning. He observed the battleground before him; the ash wastelands were all too familiar to him, because it reminded him of home. Wolf knows when he committed to the Korps there was a 99.9% chance he will not return. He returned to his trench along with his comrades. The grenadier knows wherever the regiment goes; the Korps' service to the Emperor ever extends to the eventual end.

"Well, that was unexpected," Franz announced as he was coiling up his heavy flamer fuel hose.

"More Chaos? They seemed interested in this area," noted Sebastian, another grenadier who was sharpening his sword-bayonet.

"Aye," agreed Wolf as he packed up his frag and krak grenades and melta bombs.

Franz stopped packing and looked over the trench towards the capital city.

"I'm going to miss this place, because these Traitor scum were fun to burn."

"Heh," snarled Sebastian.

Franz jumped down the steps and noticed Wolf stopped packing midway.

"Something on your mind, Wolf?"

Wolf was still staring out at the explosives in his hand and pondered on his continual gut feelings. He knew to speak of such worries might unsettle his comrades and affect combat performance of his own unit. It was funny to think like this because his gut feelings were always indicated he might die in the next battle or assault. So far his gut feeling had extended his service briefly, every single time. Maybe his gut feeling was just a sign of hunger. He just did not know what it was, but this was an unusual feeling he was experiencing. Wolf turned up to his comrade and replied.

"No".

* * *

Lessenia Altra'ic of the Alaitoc Craftworld was meditating on the maiden world Paradiso. It has been several hours since a force of Alaitoc emerged on Paradiso and attacked the Chaos Spawn of Slaanesh. Paradiso was originally colonized by Altraoic, but after The Fall they left. The feral humans had colonized it and then the Chaos sought to possess them. Although Paradise was far from the Alaitoc Craftworld in the Ultima Segmentum, it was still the responsibility of the Eldar to fight the Ruinous powers. As a warrior and a disciple to the god of war Khaine, Lessenia was an Exarch of the Howling Banshee Aspect. She had lived over 400 Terran Years in constant warfare. Lessenia fought Chaos, Humans, Tyranids, Ork, and the Old Enemy, the Necrons, and never was there a moment of brief respite for her and her cadre of Howling Banshees. Lessenia was meditating on past events where she had started to experience some psychic and emotional energy. It was after she had killed multiple cultists and daemons she had experienced unusual feelings. It was not uncommon for Eldar to experience emotion; even over 270 years of warfare cannot suppress her emotions. She had chosen the Path of the Warrior and Lessenia would stay on the path, never to stray from any distraction or obstacles. Especially to deviate and become lost of the seduction and persuasion of Slaanesh, the Chaos god of pleasure. She was an uncompromising warrior, but was well respected by those around her. Lessenia never carried a sense of arrogance or confidence, rather she saw herself as a simple warrior to fight for the existence for the Eldar and her craftworld. Before she turned to the Path of the Warrior she chose the path to become the polymath, ever exploring forms of art, music, languages, and many more. Eventually, Lessenia decided it was time to chose the Path of the Warrior as her true calling. After centuries of combat, Lessenia was now a Howling Banshee Exarch,who totally found herself lost in the Warrior's Path. She was an unfaltering,dedicated,and sometimes ruthless warrior for the craftworld. And to the eyes of Khaela Mensha Khaine, he truly molded someone in his own image.

Lessenia opened her eyes of in cold sweat. She decided to stop meditating and look out towards the untouched landscape of Paradiso, despite the sun was emerging briefly from the dark clouds. How horrible it was for a beautiful maiden world to be destroyed by the false god Slaanesh, the god of pleasure. How disgusted Lessenia was against the disciples of the Slaanesh, who will soon strip the beautiful land from the Eldar and then attempt to seduce the entire population by its power of desire, sexual hedonism, and manipulation. She shook her head in response. Lessenia knows the Eldar will not let such an abomination to occur, let alone to let Slaanesh claim another world for its decadence and pleasure-seekers.

"Kaela Mensha Khaine, Lord of Battle and War, allow me to bring about death of the Eldar's enemies and swear myself honor and fealty to the Craftworld," recited Lessenia, "I pray to Jain Zar, Lord of Banshees, to guide my sword swift and my focus true to victory."

"Yes, you have always had it in you", replied a soft and authoritative voice from the back of her head.

Lessenia turned around and was surprised to see Autarch Yulanic standing at the doorframe. Lessenia knelt before the Farseer in respect.

"Autarch Yulanic, I apologize if I had failed to notice you beforehand."

"Please stand Lessenia, it grows tiresome to see one of the most capable warriors of the Alaitoc kneeling before me." The Farseer laughed.

Lessenia stood and faced in her relaxed pose, yet full of attention.

"How may I be of service?" asked the Exarch.

The Autarch observed Lessenia for a while and Lessenia could not help but feel her brain was intricately examined by the Farseer's gaze.

"I felt a psychic energy spike coming from within the hubs. It was not like no other psychic energy I have felt in a long time. Please tell me, child what you have seen," replied the Autarch.

Lessenia hesitated, but knew there was no point in hiding from a power psyker. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Noble Autarch, I have experienced a vision; A vision of a new wave of nightmares coming. The Pleasure God is trying to do something…something abominable."

"What was it?"

"I am afraid I do not know much more, Noble Autarch. Maybe more will follow in the coming battles."

"I see," answered a concerned Autarch, "May I enter?"

"Certainly Autarch."

The Autarch strode in with martial strides and faced the large window overlooking the slowly dying world. Her face was neutral, but Lessenia knew she was processing what she had. Already the Pleasure God had caused much destruction on the Eldar and Paradiso, and it may be destined this world cannot be saved against Slaanesh. How could there be more destruction on the way? The Farseer contemplated on the Exarch's words and turned to face here.

"Was there more to the vision?"

Lessenia pondered and delved into the recesses of her mind.

"Yes, there was something else. I was wounded in a section of the city. I had leg and shoulder wounds. Then I saw a figure standing before me, a weapon in its hand with a menacing-looking mask. It looked like it was hurt as well. Then the vision ended."

The Autarch pondered for some time and finally asked, "Do you know how you were injured beforehand?"

"No, Noble Autarch, I was unable to recall what had happened before hand," replied Lessenia,"I also could not tell if it was Chaos or.."

"Human?" Finished the Autarch.

"Yes."

"I see, but you do know that these visions will come true, and may change the course of battle. And the possible consequences that may follow?"

"Yes, Noble Autarch."

"However knowing your ability to handle responsibility, I have no doubt you will be able to act on your own initiative and see this possible outcome through."

Lessenia was silent for a moment and then replied.

"Yes, thank you Noble Autarch."

Yulanic nodded and turned around and walked with grace, just as if one skimmed the surface of water. The door closed automatically behind her.

Lessenia was alone with her thoughts for a while and decided it was time to do combat training. She took her sword, pistol, and cloak and walked towards the combat facilities to clear her troubled and confused mind. Lessenia was aware the risks to trust her vision, but she could not feel but wary some form of fate might change the course of the battle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Please let the reviews and opinions go on! Much appreciated! I will be out this week, so Chapter 3 will appear sometime next week. Again, please keep the reviews and opinions on coming! I also update regularly for some fix-up misinformation Thank you, again! **

**Warmaster23**

Chapter 2: Lessons learned.

The transport was one of hundreds on their way to their unknown destination to fight Chaos. The ship was currently in Warp jump and was passing safely through with the ship's Gellar Fields activated. The 1st Company was with other members of the Imperial Guard, names such as the Cadian Shock Troopers, Vostroyan First Born, and the Harakoni War Hawks, and numerous regiments all bound for the same system along with tens of other regiments dispersed among the fleets. He already took off his carpace armor but Wolf still had his greatcoat, mask, and his trusted sword-bayonet. Interestingly, Wolf and other Krieg soldiers had kept their masks on and already their appearance had already left a mark on several wary Guardsmen in the transport. No one knows when the Krieg Guardsmen ever take their masks off. The Death Korps are either very rarely or never seen out of their gasmasks.

It was no doubt other regiments praised and respected the men of Krieg and the Krieg men returned the gesture, in a different way. Krieg men were callous and very quiet. Some had compared them to living corpses who held a gun. They were ill-tempered, but levelheaded. Other Imperial commanders were uncomfortable to have Krieg officers attached to their command, because their presence was like a vulture, hovering around looking for dead prey. Also, Krieg officers were willing to throw their entire force to capture objectives and their staggering losses seemingly have no impact on unit morale. That is what makes the Korps unique compared to most Guard regiments.

Inside the training facility where all Guard units train and maintain fitness during Warp transit, Wolf was practicing bayonet drills on a dummy target. His unit was spread out throughout the large room, sharing with other Guardsmen who were practicing their own style of warfare. Much like other men of Krieg, Wolf preferred close combat where his sword-bayonet would be a great use against his enemies. He was still an expert shot with the hellgun and proficient in other types of arms, but still preferred to the normal handy lasgun. The one thing Wolf wished was that the hellgun to have a bayonet lug, instead of having to drop the cumbersome weapon to use his sword. However it was tradition the elite of the rank-and-file to have hellguns.

He continued to stab and club away at the dummy target and then paused to take a break. The gut feeling was still there and Wolf went as far to see a Krieg medic for a checkup earlier today. Unfortunately, none of the medics could diagnose this unusual sensation and so Wolf decided to deal with it on his own. He decided to turn around and observe his own comrades and other Guardsmen trained and prepared for war. He walked around the deck and past Death Korps Guardsmen field-stripping their lasguns in a timed trial. Wolf observed a Vostryoan unit practiced massed bayonet drills and charges at an invisible enemy. The Cadians were practicing fortification assaults on a decently sized mock up of a bunker. Wolf did not realize, but he briefly smiled beneath his mask as he watched the Cadians work. He could not help notice the Cadians were working in fluid motion, as if on parade drill, to assault an imaginary enemy. The Korps style was ponderous and slow, meticulously advancing and attacking, because Krieg regiments were created to be attritional.

Wolf observed to see a Cadian sergeant approaching him. Wolf was still in his stiff posture and stayed still, like a statue. Cadian seemed unperturbed by Wolf's death-mask and was equally as tall as Wolf. The Krieg Guardsman himself stood 1.91 meters. Nevertheless the Sergeant was still an imposing figure with scars pockmarked all over his aged face, experience clearly shown.

"Hey, I couldn't help noticing you were observing our assault practicing, Death Korps."

The Cadian sergeant's tone was friendly and observational, but still had a tone of authority. He gave his hand out for Wolf to shake. Wolf was unresponsive and what seemed like a while, instead of taking his hand, he saluted him.

"Sergeant," replied curtly Wolf.

"What is your name?" Asked the Cadian, pulling his hand away.

Again Wolf was silent. It was Death Korps nature to be silent and reserved.

"Name, Guardsman?" The Cadian asked again.

Wolf was silent for two minutes. Other Cadians were slowly forming behind the Sergeant, interested for they have never seen a Death Korps in person.

Wolf finally spoke in his normal husky and lifeless voice.

"Grenadier Corporal Wolfram Klaus of the 1st Grenadier Squad, 1st Company of the 5th Krieg Siege Regiment, 1st Line Korps, 25th Siege Army."

The Cadian introduced himself.

"I am Sergeant Jorred Sink, 412th Cadian Shock Troopers."

Wolf nodded and was silent again. He knew the Cadians were amongst the very best in the Imperium. Their service record is impeccable and their reputation to be a disciplined and well-equipped force is one of the few examples of a model Guardsmen. He noticed the some troopers were a bit nervous to stand before an imposing die-hard veteran of the infamous Death Korps. He could tell they were green.

Sink spoke again.

"What do you think of our bunker assault drills?"

Wolf was silent.

Sink spoke reassuringly, " Corporal Klaus, please there is no need for you to become so stiff and quiet. We are all men of the Imperial Guard with a purpose to defend Humanity and the Emperor. It would not kill you to become more social and share your veteran experiences to others. It may save lives."

Wolf was silent again. He felt the sergeant was goading him, but could tell he spoke the truth. In his mind, he knew the Cadian was right. The sergeant's tone made him realized he would wait patiently until Wolf responded.

He finally spoke.

"I apologize sergeant, it is not in my place to judge another regiment's tactics."

"I noticed your respect for the chain of command. I applaud it. Even some of these vets under my command think they can get away disrespecting the chain of command for being in the guard for a few months." As he spoke the sergeant grinned and turned to his men.

"Back to the original question, what do you think?"

Wolf was silent, but responded a little quicker.

"Permission to speak freely, Sergeant Sink?"

"Granted, Corporal Klaus."

Wolf paused and walked towards the bunker mock-up. He then turned around.

"Again, sir, are you alright with my critique? I am wary what I point out may cause some debate."

"Absolutely," said Sink, " I know Krieg regiments are one of the very best the Guard has to offer. Your master specialization in trench and attritional warfare is heralded throughout the Imperium."

Wolf knew that was praise, but as part of his Korps mental conditioning, he chose to not acknowledge praise. He knew what he shared may save the platoon. He gestured for a few Cadians to the mock-up bunker and dictated how to clear a pillbox the Korps way. Without even knowing, Wolf gave the best training session the Cadian platoon has ever experienced. Even Sergeant Sink was awed. Wolf was so focused to give as much information and detail concerning bunker and trench assault drills; he did not notice other Guard units shuffling among the Cadians. The Vostroyans, Harakoni, and Chem-Dogs were all struck by the detail Wolf gave in to the drill, even Wolf's fellow Krieg comrades watched from a distance. The whole facility was quiet and only Wolf spoke in usual calm and lifeless voice.

"Sergeant Sink, I recommend you divide your platoon for specific roles for bunker clearing…"

"Make sure you set your lasgun's power setting at maximum when room clearing and then switch to normal when you completed task…"

"Fire and Heavy teams need to coordinate together with the Assault team to achieve minimum casualties…"

"Assaults get all the frags and kraks, while the Fire and Heavy teams lay front enfilade fire..."

Eventually, individual Guard units were given the chance to use Wolf's advice and at the end every unit had a chance to participate. It was a great form of brotherhood among the Guard where the handshakes and war-stories were shared, but the Korps remained at a distance. Wolf too distanced himself from the camaraderie, instead he did what was asked of the Sergeant and he saw it through. Just like any man of Krieg has done for centuries of service to the Emperor. Wolf silently walked away to his block and proceeded to clean his hellgun and sword again. He knew it would not be far from their destination.

"Finally," he said to himself, while looking outside of the starboard side window where he could see the numerous ships in the Warp.

"Back to war," Wolf solemnly finishes.

* * *

Like a dancer, Lessenia dodged yet another slow sword thrust by a young neophyte. She had been training for 2 hours straight and experienced no slow down whatsoever. Ever since she had experienced the vision, Lessenia committed herself to train harder in order to not lose her combat effectiveness. In her white training garb, her raven black hair was up in a high ponytail and wore a periwinkle bandana around her forehead. In her hands she held two normal power swords, elegant and old in craftsmanship, but powerful to easily penetrate Space Marine armor. Her frame was elegant and graceful, and without her Banshee armor she was still an imposing figure of 1.91 meters. Her body was hardened through the centuries of training, but chiseled as is if out from marble. Even her face resembled one of the Old Terran marble sculptures when she studied art during her time as a polymath. That was before gave up her Path of the Polymath to become a dedicated warrior of the Howling Banshee Aspect. The Path of the Warrior was her true calling and she was so dedicated she was given the honor of being a Banshee Exarch. Lessenia was, in many views, regarded as the model for all warriors, not just Banshees, to forever forsake oneself to answer the call to fight for the craftworld.

Lessenia's face was lightly tanned due to recent exposure to Paradiso's sun. Her face was attractive and sharp, delicate details of her cheekbones and jaw stood out at an average distance. Another immaculate work of art noted by onlookers, were her lips. Small and delicate, Lessenia's only cosmetic on her entire face was the deep purple lipstick she had applied a few days ago. Her lips were so irresistibly attractive, a group of companions pointed out she could give the Mar-Angau, the "Kiss of Death" for her slained enemies, for they deserved to be kissed by her divine-looking lips. Lessenia was amused at the prospect, but she knew inside that was act of barbarity. Her eyes were ice-blue and penetrating and some of her neophytes could not look at her straight in the eye. There were no physical blemishes or imperfections anywhere, a natural trait many young female Eldar had longed for. Despite her natural aesthetic beauty, she rarely acknowledged it. As a warrior, she did not show much care to fluff her face up when there was combat involved. Nevertheless, her fellow Eldar companions joked that she would not have a wear a helmet in combat and instead let her face protect herself from the enemy, especially humans.

Lessenia stopped and took a brief break from her training session with her neophytes. There were many hopefuls to the Howling Banshees, but despite having passed the initiation, they still need to train the art of swordcraft. She observed some of her neophytes' style of fighting; some were more aggressive in their stance, some were more passive. Lessenia's focus was to incorporate her teachings and her students' own strengths. That was how she found her style of fighting and shall carry the tradition like those who preceded her.

"Neophyte Hil'da, again, I asked you to bend your knees for whatever combat stance you are in. Why do you keep doing it?"

"I…do not know," replied the tired student, "I feel very tense and uncertain."

"Uncertain," pondered Lessenia on her student's weakness, "do you mean you are uncertain how to adjust your fighting depending on the circumstance of closed-quarters combat?"

"Yes Exarch."

Lessenia said, "All right, let us try something else; put down your weapons."

"Exarch?"

"Hesitation? I would not recommend that in a combat situation," Lessenia serenely pointed out, "please follow my lead."

The neophyte did as she was told and followed her teacher to an empty training mat. Lessenia also gestured her other students to observe the duo's exercise.

"Now what we are going to do is to first clear your mind, because I could not help but feel you are very tense and unsure of your own actions," said Lessenia, "such feelings can cause great harm to yourself and your sisters."

She positioned herself into her normal combat stance when she would normally have her weapons at hand. She then gestured for Hil'da to do the same.

Hil'da then entered her stance and immediately Lessenia pounced on her student. She first locked her arms around Hil'da's arms and then swiftly rotated herself behind her student. The student struggled and then Lessenia placed her left foot on the back of Hil'da's knee. Without the support of her left leg, she could not support herself with her right and soon fell on the ground. Lessenia made sure she had her face tucked sideways right behind the neck of Hil'da so she could not thrash backwards. With all of her weight on the back of the neophyte, Lessenia effectively pinned her down. She then rose and stood in front of her student, who was still down on the mat.

"Well?"

Hil'da paused to recollect and then spoke.

"Unarmed combat must be learned first before attempting with weapons, because without the proper technique of body's functions then it is useless to fight properly.

Lessenia smiled and said, "Yes, Hil'da, you are correct. Without the proper foundation needed for advanced closed-quarters, your mind and body cannot work together to fight and win. That technique was one of the first ones I had learned as a Banshee neophyte and soon I developed my own techniques to supplicate my proper fighting stance."

Lessenia then helped Hil'da stand up, but the neophyte no longer had the face of uncertainty, but confident and understanding of what she had learned.

Hil'da smiled broadly, "Yes Exarch, I understand. I will not fail you."

"I know you won't Hil'da," replied her approving teacher. She then turned around to face the other neophytes.

"I know all of you wish to not fail me, but to do that you must observe your own weakness and strengths and how to incorporate them to become a Howling Banshee. Everyone will repeat what I have demonstrated until I see this pool of neophytes are ready to proceed to the advanced lessons. Are you ready for more training?"

"Yes Noble Exarch," returned the assembled recruits, more motivated now.

"All right," as Lessenia clapped her hands, "let us begin."

* * *

A couple hours after the training session was over, Lessenia walked down the hall to her own hab-block. The results from today's training exercises were impressive, for her students learned quickly and many of them regained self-confidence and the proper stances required for combat. She herself felt very calm and composed, much to her relief of not being able to channel all that emotional energy to do physical activities. Training had certainly helped her to forget about the unusual vision she had earlier that day.

The vision.

Lessenia had completely forgotten about it during her exercises when she started to relive what she had remembered. Then she became worried about her own mental state-of-mind and due to the Eldar's ability to read minds like a book, Lessenia fretted at the thought of her own students to become fearful of the bleak future of the maiden world.

"Calm yourself, Lessenia, you are still yourself. Ignore the vision, because it may not even happen," thought Lessenia to herself.

However, she knew she was bluffing herself. Then again, how could the vision happen? How? When? Why? The questions quickly surged through her mind. She was beginning to feel frantic that even her own Soulstone in her leather pouch was beginning to feel conflicted and angry. As Lessenia prayed to the Gods as she approached her hab-block and stepped inside. The lights illuminated immediately. She stood and stared out into the evening landscape of Paradiso. Looking at the sun set behind the snow-capped mountains from a distance, the Howling Banshee felt at ease. She continued to scan slowly, taking every detail of the city her ancestors had built over 10,000 years ago, at the height of the Eldar Empire. It was remarkable that the humans did not know of its location, but soon that would change. Soon Chaos would be at the doorstep to defile the beautiful city.

Chaos.

That word burned through Lessenia like the hottest star in the universe. How she wished to tear Chaos from limb to limb! How she wished she could avenge the innumerable fallen brothers and sisters from the clutches of the Ruinous Powers, especially Slaanesh! Lessenia paused and took a deep breath.

In a venomous voice, she vowed herself quietly.

"I will get the chance, and when I do, I shall not waste it. In the name of Khaine and Jain Zar, I will annihilate my enemies who gets in my way."

Lessenia turned around to her personal armory. She turned the knob and opened the cabinet where her wargear was stored. On her left was her bleached-bone ornate armor and sash of the Alaitoc colors she had worn for centuries. To the right was her power glaive called, the aptly named, Executioner; she also had a number of assorted combat blades and weapons. Although she had options to choose other weapons, she chose this weapon because it suited her style of combat. The weapon was the symbol of her position as an Exarch of the Banshees. On the center shelf, her revered Howling Banshee mask stood suspended in mid-air. The Banshee mask was snarling at her and Lessenia grinned slightly to herself at the idea her mask was created in the image of Kaela Mensha Khaine. She took the helmet with both hands and held it up to her determined face. As she held it, she skimmed the blood-red mane with her right hand. As Lessenia did that, the voice of war cries out in her mind. The blood of Kaela Mensha Khaine boils inside of her, urging to slay her foes without respite.

She will get her chance. And it will come soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is finally up! I would like to thank the viewers who have been waiting patiently for this newest upload. This chapter is the largest so far, since I wanted to focus on a few more characters as well. Thank you and enjoy! Chapter 4 will be up something the middle of this week.

-Warmaster23

Chapter 3: Call to War/ Re-Organization

The door to Lessenia's room opened, unbeknownst to her. In strode a robbed figure with ornate rune armor with the colors of the Alaitoc. The figure was helmeted, but the presence of the psychic energy enough for Lessenia, her back turned to the door, was enough to determine it was a Warlock. She turned around as saw an imposing male figure in front of her and bowed at the helmeted figure. The figure in the finely crafted armor returned the gesture. The Warlock had an ornate power spear in his right glove and a shruiken pistol holstered in the rear. His helmet was similar to design as a Guardian helmet, but was much more personalized and designed. The Warlocks were veterans who had stayed in the Path of the Warrior for a long time. Unlike the Aspect Warriors, a Warlock had developed psychic abilities similar to a Farseer. But unlike a Farseer, who controlled the energies with control and fluidity, Warlocks were aggressive and charismatic warriors who could inspire Eldar and strike fear to the enemy. They were the champions of the craftworld, easily one of the most revered figures, second to the Farseer. Usually Warlocks led the Guardians into battle, but this one standing before Lessenia was one of the bodyguards to the Autarch, herself.

The warrior spoke.

"Exarch Altra'ic, the Autarch requests your presence to her chamber," announced the Warlock in his neutral tone.

Lessenia paused to work hard to not let the Warlock read her mind. The Warlock felt the presence in the room become unsettling and visibly noticed the Banshee Exarch was not herself. He noticed she had her helmet in her one hand.

"Is something amiss, Exarch?" asked slightly concerned Warlock.

Lessenia decided to give up on her attempts and relaxed her from tense pose.

"No, Esteemed Warlock," replied a deflated Lessenia, "I shall be there immediately. If I may ask, does this meeting concern with the upcoming offensive?"

The Warlock simply nodded.

Lessenia decided to not keep the Autarch waiting for her reply and spoke summarily.

"Thank you, Esteemed Warlock, for the news. Please tell the Autarch I will be there soon," Lessenia finished, she bowed slightly.

The Warlock returned the gesture and proceeded to walk out of the room and into the hall. Lessenia stood still for a moment until she snapped back into reality. She quickly moved to her personal armory and began the process of adorning her armor. The Exarch changed out of her training attire and put on a mesh bodysuit in Alaitoc colors. From the body suit, she progressed to put on her bone-colored Aspect cuirass. The cuirass immediately mag-clamped to her body suit. From her cuirass she put on her gauntlets, vambraces, and the rerebrace on both arms. Once her upper body was clamped, Lessenia worked her way down. She first clamped the greaves that covers from her lower legs and to the knees. From there she applied the cuisses for her thighs. The Banshee double-checked on all of the armor to make sure it was magnetically secured all around. After she completed putting on her armor, Lessenia moved to the weapons. She took first strapped a pouch to her left thigh. The pouch enables her to hold more weapons without sacrificing the mobility that would hamper Lessenia's combat effectiveness. She strapped 5 stilettos, a small power gladius, and four micro-sized grenades. The haywire and plasma grenades were not expansive enough to be issued to Howling Banshee wargear, but as an Exarch she was granted the freedom to personalize her armaments. Lessenia next had a small piece of waistline cloth with the Alaitoc colors she attached to the belt buckle. She then adjusted her leather belt that had 2 small pouches, a pistol holster, and a small sheath. The two small pouches contained food and water vials, basic-battlefield first aid, and razor wire. The back sheath had a small power dagger, but Lessenia rarely used it unless combat situations became dire.

She holstered her finely casted shruiken pistol and then went to the last weapon in her armory. She picked the Executioner by its long handle and measured its balance with both hands. The weapon was light enough that she could utilize it by one hand, but preferred dual handling. The glaive was designed to have the user the ability to activate the energies encompassing the blade or disengage them at will. The Executioner was passed down from Banshee Exarches who have died in combat or decided to give up the Path of the Warrior and then given to a Banshee who was chosen to become an Exarch, based on her merits. The weapon contained many memories from the past and Lessenia could felt the presence of the numerous Exarches who came before her. The blade was an honor and a symbol of an Exarch of the Howling Banshees. She will not let her predecessors be ashamed of the possibility of failure.

"No, I will not fail them. I will not fail the Craftworld. Most of all, I will not fail myself," swore an emotional Lessenia.

Lessenia then tied her raven hair into a high ponytail and picked up her helmet to see the Autarch.

* * *

Autarch Yulanic had her hands behind her back as she reviewed the plan to land the first strike on the Chaos foe. She had been in deep thought, even after her meditations an hour ago she still seemed at lost. It was as if she had shared the feeling Exarch Altra'ic had when she mentioned the vision to her some time ago. Yulanic closed her eyes and reflexively massaged her temples with both of her hands. As she did her, ceremonial wings ruffled about on her back. The Warlocks stood at attention behind Autarch, silent sentinels as protectors of the Autarch as she continued to focus on the task at hand. Yulanic then put her hands down, but reflexively raised her right hand to her gaunt cheeks. She opened her eyes and again reviewed possible combat scenarios regarding her strategy.

Never she had felt so conflicted over this plan, having to start fresh time and time again. Though at the tender age of 834, Yulanic's mind was still quick and decisive like a swiping blade. However, she was tired from the extensive planning. The Autarch knew this conflict would have an indefinite timeframe, the forces of Chaos much larger than she had expected to be. It was not only one planet she was contesting, but others as well. This sector of planets was the crown jewel of Alaitoc before the Fall. The humans then colonized these worlds and as a result, the Ruinous Powers struck home to the hearts and minds of the inept humans.

However, one question still stumped her. What was the reason for this incursion? Was this an advance guard to a bigger invasion? Or a feint attack? What was it? Yulanic was used to knowing before going, but she did not have the luxury for that now. She had to make do the resources she had. Also, Yulanic had thought of contacting the other Craftworlds, but the politics involved would greatly hamper the Alaitoc's campaign. Still, she will keep try at some point.

Her advisor, Farseer Zia Hels'na, was at her right at her side and she conversed quietly him about the situation.

"Farseer, have you felt the presence of the Warp entering our dimension yet?"

Hels'na closed his eyes and delved into the recesses of the psychic energies surging in his brain. After a moment he pensively gave his answer.

"The Warp energies are not concentrated to the point of rifting, but they are slowly gathering strength. We must make haste or else we will have an impossible task before us."

"I see. Thank you, Zia."

The Farseer nodded and Yulanic switched her attention to the projector.

The holo-projection of the plan showed a blue layout of the enemy encampment, 10 kilometers north to where the Eldar host resided. So far the plan seemed to be exactly as how he wanted to be, but he had a dilemma to deal with. The rangers had provided the best intelligence on the enemy so far. However the rangers have been discovered by a powerful Chaos psyker and 7 of the 10 rangers sent were killed. The price was high and now the enemy have a good idea that an attack was imminent, but fortunately the questions remains to when. An important piece of information from the rangers was the enemy was trying to open the Warp to summon the damned creatures from the Immaterium. They were building a Warp Gate to call upon the hellspawn from the other dimension. There was not much time, because the Autarch knew more warp gates were going to be built and there would be little chance to stop them completely in time.

The other Aspect Warriors assembled around the projector, some in deep conversation with others concerning the upcoming assault. They are the most senior Exarches of their respective Aspects, representing them at this meeting.

The portal on the far side of the room made a chime-like sound to announce someone has arrived. The Autarch turned around and saw Exarch Altra'ic enter the chamber. She had her helm under her left arm and her glaive mag-locked to her back. Yulanic noticed she was a little more focused than she was when Yulanic visited her, but still the presence of conflict still resided in Lessenia.

* * *

Lessenia approached the center of the Spartan chamber and strode directly to the Autarch to pay her respects. Autarch nodded in assent and Lessenia then greeted the Farseer with the bow, who returned the gesture. She went to the holo-projector to greet the subsequent warriors representing the different Aspects. First she went to an imposing, one-eyed Striking Scorpion Exarch with a menacing chainsword on his left hip and carried his dread-locked helm under his left arm. On his left hand was the deadly Scorpion's Claw, a power-fist with a Shruiken Catapult attached. The Scorpions were similar in the combat role of the Howling Banshees, but they are more physically built and preferred to lay low to attack. They would stay hide in the shadows and then strike with their blades and weapons. The Exarch smiled in a feral fashion and the two clasped wrists firmly and embraced each other by the right arm. His name was Uansi Hfrenas, the "One-Eyed Terror". Uansi had lost his left eye when a precision blade by a Dark Eldar penetrated his helm lenses 30 years ago. Now all that remained was a sleek cybernetic eye, which improved his aim with the pistol that he has rarely used. The two warriors had known each other for the past 50 years, and the relationship grew to become like an older sister and a younger brother. Often they spared in training, with Uansi in the lead over Lessenia by a difference of 2. Lessenia was the first to begin the introductions.

"Exarch Uansi, an honor again to fight alongside you. I had hoped to spar with you again before the coming battle."

Uansi again grinned and again slapped his strong right hand on her left arm. Lessenia almost dropped her helm as a result, but quickly regained her composure. The green-armored warrior laughed again in hearty way.

"You are getting soft, Banshee, have you been doing more aerobics in training instead of brute strength?"

Usually Exarches would greet each other by their titles and respect, but the two have developed a very close relationship that utilizing titles was too formal and instead opted for informality.

Lessenia offered a small smile and calmly jived with Uansi.

"That is because, Uansi, that I do not want to become a big man like yourself. My armor would not fit me and I would hate to disappoint future Exarches that they need to grow bigger to fit into my armor."

Uansi laughed again and replied, "Although I may have one eye, you shall never grow bigger like me as long as I live!"

Lessenia nodded and then continued to a black-armored warrior with a sinister skull-faced helm. His name was Exarch Gorlan Xan'kaim of the Dark Reapers, also known as "The Silent Reaper". He was the oldest of the Aspect Warriors in the room, slightly older than Lessenia who was the second oldest warrior in terms of service. No doubt this warrior was larger than Uansi, but despite his intimidating physique he was a very quiet warrior. In all of Lessenia's years of service as a Banshee, she never heard the Reaper speak more than a few complete sentences. Gorlan only spoke through the actions of body language and his deadly proficiency with the Tempest Launcher. The Dark Reapers were a sinister and hostile sect of warriors whose role in combat is to provide supporting fire for the infantry. Regardless of the reputation the Reapers carried, there was no doubt how essential these threatening warriors were to the warhost. Another interesting fact was that Lessenia never seen Gorlan's face before, which he always had a helm whenever she was around him.

She bowed slightly to the Reaper, who returned the gesture with a nod.

"Exarch Xan'kaim, I trust you are well today for the upcoming battle?" Asked Lessenia, hopefully he will say something in return.

The Silent Reaper only nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, she bowed again and continued on. The next warrior was Exarch Vaclai Jirak, a Dire Avenger. The Dire Avengers were one of the most zealous and efficient ground troops the craftworld has to offer. They were superior to the Guardians, because they were much more disciplined and trained. The Avenger was of average built with his armor royal blue with the colors of the Alaitoc. Jirak's posture was ramrod straight and held his plumed helm under his right arm. His Shruiken catapult was attached right thigh and his power sword on his left hip. Despite the weapons, his most important weapon at his disposal was his brain. Jirak had a great tactical mind, some rumored only second to the Autarch herself. Lessenia had fought alongside Jirak in the past, and never had she had seen him lose his composure in the heat of battle. No doubt he was a charismatic leader and his modesty is what makes him stand out. Whenever he was praised, Jirak refused and instead told the others to praise his troops instead because his lead. He was a fair warrior who treated every person with martial respect they deserve. In return, everyone praised and revered Jirak as a great leader, who was tipped to be an Autarch in the future.

Lessenia approached to Jirak and bowed slightly. Jirak clamped his right fist across his heart and bowed to Lessenia, an act of great respect to a fellow Exarch. Then the two grasped each other wrist, another sign of the cordial respect to each other.

"Exarch Jirak, it is the greatest honor to go to war alongside you," announced Lessenia.

The Avenger replied, his voice full of wisdom, honor, and dignity.

"Exarch Altra'ic, it is the greatest honor that I fight alongside you as well. This craftworld is in need of great warriors like you."

Lessenia felt a warm blush behind her cheeks, flattered by his praise.

"In return, the craftworld will need more of you than me."

The Avenger chucked and replied, "Then that makes two of us."

Lessenia nodded and continued exchanging greetings with the other Exarches of the Warp Spiders, Fire Dragons, and the Swooping Hawks. She also saw a Pathfinder from the Ranger cadre and summarily greeted him. For some reason the Pathfinder was dour and his expression blank. Lessenia did not want to ask, fearing it may cause distress. When she finished, she took her place next to Uansi and waited for the Autarch to begin her plan of discussion.

The Autarch had her left hand up to her chin, a sign of deep contemplation. Soon enough, she walked up close to the hold-projector and began her meeting.

"Exarches, I bring grim news. As we know, Pathfinder Kjasanda and his Rangers had infiltrated the Chaos compound and successfully retracted information of the purpose of the Chaos rituals. However, we know everything comes with a price. The Rangers were nearly wiped out after being discovered by the enemy. For that, we will avenge the fallen brothers of the Cadre and not let them die in vain for their daring actions."

Lessenia now understood why the Pathfinder was so sullen. He had lost a great number of outstanding scouts under his command. Without rangers, the warhost could have been blind and deaf to the Chaos threat. These scouts are the ones who make victory possible for the other warriors. The feeling of vengeance was strong in the air as every warrior in the room shared the sentiment.

Yulanic continued her announcement.

"What the Rangers have discovered is extremely valuable. The enemy is currently constructing a cursed Warp gate. As of now, they have not completed, but should we not linger or they will succeed. Should the enemy succeed, then Paradiso is lost," darkly Yulanic stated.

"What are we waiting for? Let's avenge our brothers and drive the enemy back!" interrupted Uansi, his expression almost savage-like. Lessenia had to remind herself that Uansi was young and tended to be a bit enthusiastic about going to war.

The Exarch was neutral when she spoke, "In time, Exarch Uansi, but we should not forget how difficult it has been to drive the Ruinous Powers back. Many of our brothers and sisters have perished and we must exercise patience."

Exarch Uansi paused and apologized for his outburst. The Autarch nodded in acknowledgment and continued with her speech.

"The Chaos forces compromise of human soldiers, cultists, and a few traitor Space Marines. Reports show a foul sorcerer is also in the vicinity. Fortunately, there was no indication of Daemon presence in the encampment, but that does not mean we take this force lightly. They have built few fortifications surrounding the Warp gate. They know we are coming, but they do not know when. Since this Warp Gate is located in a dilapidated city, no doubt there will be a lot of cover to utilize."

As the Autarch spoke, the map constantly shifted and revolved so the warriors could view the topography, concentration of enemy forces, and most importantly the Warp Gate. Lessenia quickly scanned the map before her and saw that there was only one road goes through the city. The Warp gate was situated at the apex of the road. It would be near suicide, should an Eldar force charge through a choke point.

"Maybe the Autarch will get to that," thought Lessenia.

Yulanic gestured towards the map again and this time the map zoomed in on the area surrounding the gate. She spoke again.

"The dilapidated buildings are all located on the flanks of the Warp Gate. No doubt the strongest concentration of Chaos will be at the south, facing towards us. Assumingly the enemy are tactically astute, they should have some troops located inside the buildings and the rear. Now this is where I begin the proposed troop deployments."

The map then zoomed out, providing tactical overview for the warriors. Then symbols of the different Aspect Warriors appeared on the overview.

"I first begin with the first wave of warriors for infiltration. I propose to send the Striking Scorpions, the Howling Banshees, and the Rangers in first. The Scorpions and Banshees will focus on the enemy's communication relay 25 yards to the northwest of the Gate. When that happens, the Rangers will deploy anywhere where their sniper support will have a demoralizing effect on the enemy."

For a moment, Lessenia thought she saw a small venomous smile emerge from the dark hood of the Pathfinder.

"While the Scorpions and Banshees engage, the Dire Avengers, the Fire Dragons, Guardians, and the Reapers will form the vanguard and drive a wedge into the enemy center. The Wraithguards will first be the first wave of the attack, taking the brunt of the enemy's advance. The Falcons will then follow in conjunction with the vanguard. I will personally lead this attack, because that is where enemy resistance will be the most concentrated. I am afraid there is no room for finesse from that point on; once are committed, we cannot be as surgical we have always been."

Yulanic paused to let the Exarches examine the information provided and after a moment she moved on.

"At the same time a Wraithlord, the Swooping Hawks, and Warp Spiders will hit their rear guard, should they have one, and again force the traitors to the Warp Gate. In support, the Wave Serpents will join in the rear action to punch holes quickly so the force can quickly link up and begin encirclement. All forces will link up and squeeze the enemy to the Gate itself. The Gate must be destroyed at the same time as the enemy."

Lessenia brooded over the plan. It was a very good plan. She could see no fault in the Autarch's plan. However, she knew a plan would be useless if one unit fails to keep up to speed of deployment. But that is where adaptability must come into play and quickly change the dynamic of the battle. Lessenia quickly formulated several outcomes and solutions that can happen in this battle. She kept a note to herself for the future, concerning about should Daemons become involved. She knew she was not the only one. She could feel the calculative and theoretical thoughts being computed in Jirak's mind. Gorlan's mind was unreadable while Uansi's mind was erratic and aggressive. However a question continued to nag and bother her. She was about to ask until an orange-armored warrior beat her to it.

"Noble Autarch, may I have permission to speak?" his voice empowering and burning.

"Granted Exarch Dlano Tohvenen of the Fire Dragons."

The Fire Dragon paused before speaking and out came the inevitable question.

"The plan is sound and clear. However if fate intervenes and we fail to stop the portal from opening, what then happens?"

Silence and eeriness followed the question. The Autarch was silent before she spoke in her grim voice.

"Should we fail, we must commence a fighting retreat until we need reach the Webway Portal at the edge of the camp. We must take out as many of the enemy as we withdraw. You know Eldar cannot fight in pitched battles. Nevertheless we shall fight in another day."

Yulanic observed the other warriors gathered and continued to speak.

"The plan will commence in 1 hour and I suggest you get your Aspect Warriors up to date on this information. Remember this assault requires grace, speed, and finesse. Should we be slow, the Warp Gate will open and the hellspawn will swallow Paradiso. From that hour, the course of this campaign may change the dynamic for the future of this planet. Let us remember those who have fallen into the hands of the Chaos! We pray to the gods to grant us victory and by the blood of Khaine, we shall win!" concluded the inspiring Autarch.

The warriors assembled raised their gauntlets and punched the air, indicating they were ready to prosecute the enemy from the world. The Howling Banshee could feel the emotions going through their veins, evident that the urge to fight is upon her. Lessenia felt the presence of her fellow Exarches, who knew that they would not fail each other in the coming battle. The camaderie was so strong that she started to slightly tear up in her eyes; the emotional support for each other was impenetrable.

Yulanic nodded and gave her last command.

"Return to your warriors and make ready for war. Dismissed Exarches."

The warriors bowed and left to enter the portal. As she walked to the portal, Lessenia thought about the future battles that may follow.

"We are called to war," thought the Banshee, "and may our actions save the lives of others in the unknown future. Most of all, I hope that vision turns out to be wrong as the hellspawn from the Warp."

* * *

The Imperial Battlefleets continued to pass through the Warp in the week-long voyage. The Navigators are convinced they are very close to the Epsilon Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus, where the planet designated as Paradiso and her sister planets were under Chaos control. No doubt Paradiso's system was very close to the Segmentum Solar, the system where Mankind first made their mark over 40,000 years ago. As fleets approached, they have received reports that more Imperial Navy vessels were gathering near the border where the two systems meet. There was no speculation that the High Lords of Terra want to keep this campaign contained within the Tempestus.

In charge of the crusade was Warmaster Helmuth Kandrovic, a grizzled veteran of major military campaigns for over 110 years. He was of an imposing height of 1.93 meters, but a gaunt figure with a trimmed gray beard. Kandrovic had a bionic left eye because he was going blind in that eye. Still, he knows he can still aim well with the bolt pistol attached to his left hip. Kandrovic was dressed in a simple attire of an Imperial Guard commander. He only had a few medals attached to his breast, because of Kandrovic's belief that medals are only good for showing off. He was not the one to wear the full regalia of the rank since he was a simple man with the duty to wage war against the Imperium's enemies. He was bequeathed to the title Warmaster by the High Lords of Terra, based on his service record and his natural ability to be a mediator in times of political in-fights of Imperial bureaucracy. Kandrovic had served as a Lord General during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade over 60 years ago, where he proved consistent competence and was personally praised by Warmasters Slaydo and Macaroth. Now he was in their shoes, commanding hundreds of regiments and ships to take back this sector to Imperial control. In his time of service, Kandrovic was known to play loose with strategy, unorthodox warfare, and that has caused some raised eyebrows when he was chosen to be the Warmaster. Nevertheless, he was popular with the troops and officers who serve under him.

The burden of a Warmaster was great, because the Warmaster rank has left famous and infamous individuals. The most infamous was Horus, architect of the Horus Heresy 10,000 years ago. The most famous was Solar Macharius, arguably the greatest commander the humanity has seen since the Primarchs, when he launched his successful crusade in the Pacificus over 500 years ago.

Kandrovic was starting to feel age starting to wear him and wondered if he would survive to the end of the crusade. At first he recalled to refuse the Warmaster title, asking High Lords to choose someone else. However, you can't say "no" to the Lords. The High Lords of Terra tasked him a crusade in the entire Epsilon Sector of the Tempestus. Having been briefed of the situation, Kandrovic knew the Chaos would not let go of these worlds, having remembered the bloody battles in the Sabbat Worlds. He had planned this crusade for over a year and a half and the incredible amount of resources poured into the campaign shocked Kandrovic. This crusade was the largest campaign in Imperial history. This will no doubt be a very costly endeavor, possibly even more than Macharian and the Sabbat Worlds combined! Kandrovic shuddered at the innumerable loss of life for the inevitable battles to come, knowing that it was his job to get the job and worry about casualties later.

The Warmaster shared command with Admiral Qanxi, commander of Battlegroup Medusa that was one of the three battlegroups involved in the crusade. The Apocalypse-ClassBattleship _Cassius Belli_ was the flagship of Qanxi, amongst the hundreds of ships en route to the Epsilon Sector. The other two battlegroups, also under the Warmaster, are currently gathering strength in other sectors of Tempestus. They are expected to arrive in the Epsilon Sector in a day or two, which was a huge relief to Kandrovic who thought he had to expect the remaining crusade fleets in a week. The Mechanicum were also sending three Titan Legions in support of the crusade through the Warmaster's fluid negotiations with representatives from the Mechanicum. They promised to arrive in 3 days time and since they are the Mechanicum, they were never late in making promises. That thought made Kandrovic's sour face smile a bit.

There were surprises during the voyage to Epsilon Sector. Kandrovic was contacted by chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, stating they will become involved in the crusade. This was an incredible asset to have, but from past experience the Warmaster knows he would not have direct control over the 8 Astartes Chapters who pledged their service. The Space Marines are prosecuting their own agenda and as long as a working relationship is developed, then Kandrovic will have no problem convincing the Astartes to cooperate side-by-side. The Warmaster read from a data-slate earlier today that the Ordo Malleus and Hereticus would join the crusade, according to a representative of the Inquisition. Again, they would be prosecuting their own agenda in conjunction with the Imperial Guard. Kandrovic had misgivings about the Inquisition mingling within his crusade, but nevertheless he must make room for them to do their job.

* * *

In the bridge of _Cassius Belli_, the Warmaster was again reviewing the plans for the first strike at Paradiso when he felt the presence of another person behind him. He turned around and saw it was a representative from the Departmento Munitorum, an administrative branch from the bureaucratic division stationed on Holy Terra. Also the man represented the Lord Commander-Militant of the Imperial Guard, the commander-in-chief of everything in the Guard. Kandrovic was only second to that high rank.

The representative made the sign of the Aquila and bowed to the Warmaster. The Warmaster bowed and decided to approach first. Immediately he noticed the representative had a data-slate in his gold cybernetic left hand.

"Master Jethro, I trust everything is well at hand."

The representative nodded and spoke in his husky voice.

"Quite so, Lord Warmaster, the Lord-Commander is pleased by the amount of preparations you have put into this campaign."

"Master Jethro, it pleases me as well to hear the encouraging words," said Kandrovic, "but I believe you are here for something else as well?"

The representative was slightly taken back by the Warmaster's perceptiveness, but nevertheless continued.

"Quite correct, Lord Warmaster. I have a message coming from the Departmento concerning one of your regiments in your crusade."

The Warmaster was quiet, because he had no idea what the Departmento would want with the regiments at his command.

"I see. May I see the data-slate, please?" asked Kandrovic.

The representative handed the data-slate to the Warmaster, who quickly read the inscribed message. As he read his eyes began to grow larger and his brow furrowed. It was a short message and when he was finished, Kandrovic handed the slate back to the representative.

He asked the rep in a surprisingly quiet voice.

"Is it true, what I am reading?"

The rep nodded, "Yes Lord, they were quite clear about it and believed it could create many benefits for the crusade."

The Warmaster could only nod and decided to let the rep return to his duties.

"Thank you Master Jethro, I will see to it that the Departmento's request be carried out."

The rep bowed and left the room. Kandrovic could only put his right hand over his face. "More organization", thought the Warmaster. He pressed the vox-com on the bridge console and gave the message to one of his army commanders, who would not be pleased when he gave him the news.

* * *

"Lord Warmaster, I take it this is not a joke?" asked the incredibly-irritated Krieg general.

The Warmaster could only shake his head and saw the Krieg commander fuming at the Department message he had been briefed a couple of minutes ago. This was Lord-General Daethka, the commander of all Krieg regiments in the crusade, which constituted the entire 2nd Siege Army. He had a reputation among the Guard commanders as a fatalistic, morbid, and reserved leader. However, his master knowledge of siege and trench warfare was unquestionable. Daethka was a good friend to Kandrovic, the two have served together in past. As his friend and commander-in-chief, Kandrovic had to explain the situation to make his friend convinced of the possible benefits.

"I am afraid so General Daethka, the Departmento wants a massed re-organization of the Krieg regiments. They want to expand the size of the Siege regiments to 125,000 more than the average amount."

The grim Krieg general was silent and paced the bridge like a vulture in search of a carcass. He was pacing so furiously that his Prussic helm almost fell right off of his graying hair. Once he stopped he turned to the Warmaster and looked at him straight into his eyes, penetrating like the powerful lance beams of battleship. The normally reserved general was slowly boiling over the top.

"Because of this, the entire 2nd Army is now smaller in the amount of regiments I have! I then have to fold different companies into another, losing the manpower effectiveness of the regiments! Every single infantry regiment is mow understrength! Lord Warmaster, the status quo is gone! Instead of 250,000 men, I now have 375,000 men per regiment! Also, I have to wait for the 125,000 plus men to arrive from Krieg and that can take a very long time during the campaign! And that is for each Infantry regiment! What about the artillery and tanks? How can they operate without the effective manpower? How can I possibly accept this from the Departmento? Daethka said in his raised voice.

The bridge was then silent, the only sounds coming from the beeps of the numerous consoles stationed here. Nobody in the room breathed. The Warmaster knew this was not the place for a public reprimand so he decided to do something.

"General Daethka, I will not accept this kind of talk. Now please follow me," said Kandrovic in a firm voice. He gestured Daethka to follow him out of the bridge.

As the two men walked the down the hall, various men all around them saluted at the sight of the Warmaster and his general. After some time of winding down corridors and elevators, they have reached the personal chamber of Kandrovic. That was after they had to go through different levels of security before entering the room. From there, Kandrovic ordered both entourages stay outside of the room. The two men enter the surprisingly Spartan quarters the Warmaster settled in. The room was small in comparison to the higher-ranking officers and had only once source of light coming from an illumine-globe on his nightstand next to his bed. He had a few trophies hung up on the walls and his uniforms were hanging from a goat hanger. There was no sort of decoration or even a splash of color in the gunmetal room. The Warmaster had a small couch, table, and a few chairs directly across from his bed, where he gestured the Krieg general to sit down.

Daethka looked much calmer than he had been a few minutes ago, but the general was still stiff. The Warmaster poured some water into two glasses and offered Daethka water. The Krieg general took the glass and set it on the table. The Warmaster sat in a chair across from him and took a sip from the glass.

Daethka began to speak first.

"I apologize for my insubordination, Lord Warmaster. I meant no disrespect to you. I will comply to whatever the Departmento demands."

The Warmaster smiled slightly, his friend the ever-loyal soldier he had always known.

"I know you will, general. You are too loyal and respectful to ignore a direct command from the Departmento. To be honest Manfred, I was not happy when the Departmento issued the request."

The Krieg general was silent, but had a look of incredulity.

"Really, Helmuth? I never thought you would have those kinds of feelings? Why do you have those feelings?" asked Daethka.

The Warmaster paused for a moment, thinking what to say. I put his glass down on the nightstand and began to speak.

"The Death Korps are by far the most effective troops I have under my command. As far as I know, the entire crusade may depend on them. I have seen the work the Death Korps have been able to produce, especially at Vraks and Aluphine. The Death Korps had been fine as they have been, as you said, and there should be no reason why re-organization must take effect. I agree to your sentiments. Once I read the news, I knew the Death Korps would be shorthanded of troops from the start. They also wanted to re-organize individual regiments. You will see more details when I send you the data in time."

"The re-organization will make the 2nd Siege Army the most formidable unit at hand," continued Kandrovic, "and not to mention the innumerable numbers of men under your direction . After what I heard on Vraks, that was why I needed the Death Korps for this campaign. This crusade will be absolutely bloody and dirty. That is the style of Death Korps. That is why I have those feelings, because even the Departmento knows why the Death Korps are so important to this campaign."

The Death Korps general nodded, understanding the importance and value of his own army.

"I understand, Lord Warmaster, and it is also because we do not give a damn about our own casualties."

The Warmaster grimly chuckled at that statement.

"I pray to the Emperor that is not why the Departmento decided to expand your regiments. The Death Korps is a symbol, the symbol of the endurance and grim outlook of Humanity. Also, that is why I have given the honor to the 2nd Siege Army to make the first strike at Paradiso. Despite the numerous requests from other Guard generals, I picked the Death Korps because I know in practical sense Paradiso will be a bloody start to the crusade. Many generals will not want to stay for a lengthy period of time on one planet; rather they jump around planet to planet. For that reason, I personally place the 2nd Siege Army as the vanguard of this crusade."

The Death Korps was silent again and after some time he stood up. He saluted to the Warmaster.

"Thank you Lord Warmaster," concluded the grim and dour general, "I shall begin re-organization immediately."

The Warmaster grinned and saluted back.

"May the Emperor watch over, Lord General Daethka."

"And to you as well, Lord Warmaster."

He watched the Krieg general turn at his heels and marched out of the room. The Warmaster saw Daethka's glass on the table. It was still there and untouched by Daethka. If Kandrovic had convinced him the importance of the re-organization, then it was important also to tell Daethka to drink his damn water. But the Warmaster understood why water was untouched. He recalled what Daethka famously said years ago.

"Water is a luxury on Krieg, and Death Korps cannot afford to have luxuries."

"If only I had more of them under my command," thought Kandrovic. The Warmaster realized it was time to return to the command bridge. He knows Warp transit to the Epsilon Sector is almost complete and the preparations that have been in effect for over a year will now take fruit. Kandrovic walked out of the room and into the corridor. Unbeknownst to him, he too left his glass of water untouched, sitting on the nightstand.


	4. Chapter 4

In this chapter Wolf becomes the main focus of the story. The battles will definitely pick up in the next chapter. Enjoy!

-Warmaster23

Chapter 4: Mirage/ Re-Organization/ Litany of Sacrifice

Wolf was dead. He looked around and realized he was 50% right and wrong. He was nearly dead, but alive. The grenadier did not need anybody to tell him, because they were all dead. Wolf tried to move on the gravelly surface, but tried to every time he tried to move, his whole torso felt it was hanging by a thread. He looked down and saw the horrific damage. His entire carpace cuirass was peppered by some kind of heat projectiles. They were medium-sized holes, which punched cleanly right through the heavy armor. Wolf could feel exit wounds that have exited though his back; the projectiles have gone clean through his entire body. From the holes dark blood streamed out, which stained his upper body with a dark purple color. He looked down to his arm and saw that his entire left hand is gone, but the wound was coagulated. Wolf also observed his upper left arm was bloodily lacerated, slicing through his greatcoat and his plasteel shoulder guards. However his right arm was not wounded as badly; only a few cuts on his sleeve. The wounded grenadier tried to support his upper body with his legs, but he could only feel his right leg. He looked down and saw his left leg was limp and Wolf came to the conclusion that his leg was entirely broken from the knee down.

The strange thing was that Wolf could not remember what had hit him that caused his entire body to become incapacitated. Judging by the severity of wounds, whatever had hit him must have been big. As he scanned the entire area, Wolf came to fruition that he was in a big, destroyed city. The dead figures around him were a mix of Krieg, other Guardsmen, Space Marines, the Chaos enemies, and unknown figures Wolf had never seen before. There were also more bodies he was not familiar with, but evidently they were in service of the Imperium when he saw the Aquila. Squinting his eyes, the soldier realized that some of fallen were not human.

"What were they?" thought Wolf, noticing those figures had elegant and ornate armor. Since their armor was different compared to the Guard and the Chaos, he knew they were xenos. His vision was steadily getting worse as he began to succumb to his wounds.

"But were they also with the enemy?" pondered Wolf as he looked at the carnage of the battlefield. Every single one of them was killed, each in their own terrible way. Entire arms and limbs were blown out, vital organs were strewn all over the place, bodies were charred, heads were decapitated, chest cavities blown inside out, and pools of blood stank the air. Vehicles were on fire as the oil and gasoline were still burning. Assorted weapons and armaments were laid all over as far as the eye can see. The smell death in the air was enough for Wolf to feel sick and weak. It seemed to him he was the only one alive, but barely.

Wolf managed to support himself up with his right arm and leg up against a damaged ferrocrete wall. As he tried to get himself into a better leaning position, he cried out in pain as the wounds started to take its toll on mortally wounded soldier. He blinked several times when his eyes suddenly became too blurry. After a blinking a few times more his vision returned to normal, but Wolf was starting lose consciousness. He stared the area where his feet where and saw a large pool of his own blood and a large trail where he had crawled up to the wall.

The dying grenadier could not help but feel emotional about the death of his comrades and allies around him. They had died valiantly, but the sad part about Krieg soldiers was that nobody really seemed to care about their death. Death was expected, that thought indoctrinated into the minds of Krieg soldiers when they were once recruits. Once a soldier dies, and then he is remembered by the actions of individuals who sent him to die in the first place. However, Wolf had to constantly remind him that where there is death, lays victory. Casualties were to be expected, as it was part of war. In any case, Wolf felt they had done their duty and soon he will join them.

"At least I will die knowing I have done my duty," grimly thought Wolf as he looked up into the darkening sky. Slowly rain started to form, one-by-one each little drop falling down in quick succession. It came down at a steady pace and Wolf knew his time is up. The death was slow and painful, and grenadier wished a Quartermaster would find him. He wanted to have the "Emperor's Peace" to relieve him from his slow death.

Amidst the rain, a silhouette emerged. As dying Wolf leaned against the wall, turning his head to hopefully see a Quartermaster arrive, he then saw the silhouette about 50 yards ahead of him. As the silhouette emerged, a shape of a figure slowly came about. Wolf instinctively his reached with his right arm, while in great pain, to his bayonet sheath. But found no bayonet. This was the first time Wolf has felt absolute fear, the fear of dying without fighting. He had lost his trusted blade and quickly decided to search for one.

"Where the hell could it be?" asked Wolf as he painfully crawled towards his left to find a dead Krieg Guardsmen with a bayonet in its sheath. He pulled the weapon out and again painfully returned to his position against the wall. As figure slowly emerged, Wolf held the knife as tight as he could and waited. Shortly, the grenadier realized this figure was not armed. It was also not part of the Enemy, but neither an Imperial Guard soldier. The notion that this unknown figure, seemingly aware of her surroundings, was walking around of the aftermath of a huge bloody battle stumped Wolf completely.

"Could it be those xenos?" raced in the mind of Wolf, referring to the unfamiliar dead bodies he had seen since he had awoken.

The figure was evidently robed, the color of cream standing out like the brightest sun in the sky. All of a sudden wind picked up out of the blow, blowing to the northeast. It seemed the wind _followed _the figure. Then, Wolf squinted his eyes again and saw it was not a male, but...

"A female?" said the grenadier incredulously, "what in the blood of the Emperor is going on?"

With that thought, his tight grip on the bayonet loosened slightly, but still had it at the ready should things go arraign. Wolf had never seen a female like that, having seen some female Guardsmen in other Guard regiments. Wolf shook his head from the past. Taking in mind that he was severely wounded, the unknown figure could easily kill him, which would do him some favor. However, Wolf will not go down without a fight to an enemy of the Imperium.

The female was about 5 yards away and Wolf saw the mysterious figure much more clearly. She was tall, and she had her hands at her side, relaxed. Her skin was pale and the female had a hood, which it hid most of her face from Wolf. The wounded grenadier took note that she was barefoot. How could she walk without shoes on? Wolf did not have time to think about it because just as he did, the female figure stopped at his feet. No sound emerged from the figure; the only sounds were the billowing wind, the patter of rain, and Wolf's ragged breath. Her back was straight like a Death Rider's spear. Her hands were folded in front of her at her waistline. Wolf perceived this figure seemed sad or in deep contemplation of the dying man before her.

Wolf had heard of stories of unusual mirages when he was on the transport. Those who shared the stories were grievously wounded Guardsmen who had lived to fight another day. Some survivors have said that a Living Saint has approached them from the Adepta Sororitas, Chapter Militant of the Ordo Hereticus, comforting the wounded and the dying. One veteran Guardsman, he overheard, said that Saint Celestine, the revered Saint of a particular Sororitas order, approached him and comforted him when he was near death. Another said that an Angel of Death approached him and asked him if he wanted to live. Wolf downplayed those mirages, because he was a soldier of the Imperial Guard and not someone who believed in miracles or the supernatural. He did not fully embrace the Imperial Cult and was not someone of great faith. It was because the life of being a Krieg Guardsmen, it is full of suffering and death lies at the end of it. That mindset is so simple; it made Wolf think if he was like really a simpleton or a corpse holding a knife in his hand. However, he would not be swayed of that notion because he was created to fight and die for Humanity. _It was that simple. _

The figure suddenly approached to his right arm where he had the sword in his hand. Without a word, she gently knelt next to him. The mysterious figure put both of her elegant hands and slowly pulled the sword out of his gloved hand. Wolf did not bother resisting, because he was in and out of consciousness. She picked up the sword in her hand and when Wolf believed she would deliver the _coup de grâce_. Instead she chucked the sword far away where it landed in the heap of mud.

The rain and wind continued steadily as the two figures stood before each other. Wolf did not know what to expect from this unusual occurrence. However, at the same time he felt stronger, but not physically. It was more of a strengthening of the spirit. He suddenly felt elation within his dying body. The female then made her move where she moved to his left side and knelt next to his peppered chest. She continued to look down over his wounds and no sound came out of here. After some time, the hooded figure lifted her head and looked at Wolf straight into his eyes.

If there was anything that made Wolf completely limp, it was when he saw figure's face. Her almond-shaped face was of another world. It was flawless. Wolf blinked several times again, trying to make sure the person in front of him is not a ghost or specter. The female's face was pale, her cheeks a tad gaunt but sharp. There was some blush on her cheeks. Her eyebrows were straight and right above her eyelids there were some sort of purplish substance above her eyes. The female's eyes were blue and they had a look of poise, like a steady blade. It was deeply penetrating to look at and Wolf was stuck in her Medusa's gaze. The figure had the lips of a dark purplish hue, which made her look either more menacing or..

Wolf could not think of the word.

The woman then pulled her hood back, letting the rain patter on her hair. Wolf noticed that she _was _a xeno. The high raven-colored ponytail made Wolf feel uncomfortable around her.

The female smiled slightly and Wolf felt he was slowly losing himself. His breathing was becoming more ragged and slower. The xeno gently placed her hands on his gas mask and Wolf did not resist her, for he was getting weaker and weaker by mere seconds. She started to lift up his mask and….

* * *

The dream ended.

Wolf woke up and sat up in his cot as quickly as soon the dream ended. He quickly scanned the area around him; relieved he was still in the shared cell of the transport. Once he sat up, a splintering headache penetrated his mind.

"Bloody dream," thought Wolf, "and what in the Emperor just happened?"

The grenadier massaged his temple and painfully walked up to the cell's porthole. Wolf saw the hues of the Warp streaming past the hull of the ship, so he knew they were still in Warp transit. The voyage has been a weeklong trip and the grenadier was anxious to leave. Wolf then suddenly looked down to his body, relieved to see there were no lacerations and wounds. Wolf cautiously touched his left arm and chest, still unconvinced that there were no injuries in plain sight. Next, he hesitantly flexed his left hand. Wolf then instinctively touched his left leg.

"How could it be so real?" whispered Wolf as put his right hand over his forehead in shock.

As he touched his forehead, he noticed it gleamed with sweat. The grenadier walked over to a small water basin and communal bathroom to the left of the airtight entry door. He turned on the water for a small metal basin and proceeded to wash his face. Wolf made sure that the feeling of sweat no longer enameled his face. Once he finished his washing, he then looked around and saw no towels to dry his face. So instead he resorted to other means. Wolf simply dried his face on his sleeves. With his hands she simply shook them until most of the water recess billowed out of his hands.

"I guess I was pretty tired," wearily Wolf said.

As Wolf stared at his own reflection through the musty mirror. Explicably, he was exhausted since he left Aluphine. His two back-to-back tours at Vraks and Aluphine took its toll on the veteran. He had a look of a 40something-year old man, while he was only 28 years old. His complexion changed during the long sieges he has been involved, growing more wrinkled and haggled as time went on. His eyes were flinty and dark-brown, a common gene among the people of Krieg. His grayish hair was messy and unkempt and he only had it cut whenever his company was relieved during fighting. The grenadier had few faint scars on his neck and right cheek due to small exposure of radiation when he was a recruit. Wolf sighed out loud, clearly still recovering from the sleep he just had and the dream.

Wolf left the bathroom and strode to his cot where he sat down. He fumbled his callous, hard, and scarred hands together, trying to figure out what he dreamt showed how he was going to die. In fact, he was close to dying and Wolf was sure that was how he was destined to die. And then again, maybe not. But who was that woman? He could tell that she was a xeno, but that was not necessarily the case.

From the stories Wolf overheard from other veteran Guardsmen of various units, those mirages occur when a soldier is in the very brink of death. The manifestation of the mirages depended on your mental state at the time of injury sustained. The problem was that Wolf had no idea what happened beforehand, because the dream started in the _aftermath_ of a big battle. Judging from the women's appearance, she was dressed mysteriously. A hooded woman came out of nowhere and decided to take off his mask. Was that it?

"No," said Wolf to himself, "there is more to it." It was like the gut feeling he had back on Aluphine and had been bothered by it ever since he left on the transport. But he was determined to not let it impend his life.

Wolf decided to was time to go to the armorium and so he went to his closet. Before putting on the greatcoat, the grenadier put on a thin flak cuirass to protect his ribs from the heavy carpace chest plate. He then put on his neatly pressed, but old standard-issued heavy greatcoat. Once Wolf wore the greatcoat, he strapped on his carpace greaves on both legs before moving up to his chest. He then tied his leather belt, which contained small pouches of rations, first-aid, and his sword-bayonet sheath that also combined with his Lucius-Pattern Laspistol holster. Wolf had extra Type V respirator filters, his maintenance kits for the Type XIV Hellgun and respirator, and four cartridges for his pistol that doubled as ammo for a Lasgun. He had also Frag and Krak grenades, but it was dangerous to have them onboard. Wolf additionally has a small shoulder-strapped canvas bag, which contained whatever additional equipment needed. However he did not need it since he was not in battle, so he left it in his rucksack. Wolf also has a small flask of water on his right hip, since his respirator could not be piggybacked as a portable canteen. Some of his wargear were not Krieg Standard-Issue, but like many NCOs and Veteran Watchmasters they personalize their wargear to be more effective in battle.

Wolf then put on his heavy-duty gloves and began to proceed to the heavy armor. The Carpace Plates offered better protection than the Flak Armor and normal Krieg Guardsmen never wore flak armor. His respirator unit was also attached by the leather webbing to the Carpace Plates, so it offered balance to the wearer who had to march in that kind of armor for an indefinite period of time. The respirator unit had the gas mask already hooked up by the hose. The grenadier laid the equipment on the ground, and stepped into the waistband. He pulled the armor and respirator and inserted both arms into the armpits of the webbing. Wolf moved around so the heavy wargear settled comfortably on his upper body. He adjusted the straps on his lower back and made sure the respirator was behind the upper part of his chest. Wolf made sure there was enough room between the gas mask hose and canister, because he did not want to snap back whenever he turned his head everywhere.

The final part was his respirator mask. Since he was in a pressurized area, he turned off the respirator system since oxygen was present. He then put on his metal skull-mask and locked the strips behind his head. The transport was a bit chilly, so Wolf pulled the rest of the protective neck layering of his mask down and below the collar of the greatcoat. He finally put on his helmet and strapped it under the chin. With that being done Wolf was completely insulated from the outside elements.

He walked out of the room and the door automatically hissed open. The grenadier walked down the corridors that ultimately led to an elevator to the armorium, one of the largest rooms in the transport. A few Guardsmen from different regiments saluted him, whom Wolf returned the gesture while he maintained his stride and eye contact forward. Once the elevator ride was up, he walked down back a few doors until a large blast door appeared on his right. Above the door, a sign was inscribed as the Armorium. Once he walked through the large door, he was greeted by an array of weapons shelved and stacked all over the room.

There were a few servitors and a tech-priests in the room; meticulously refining and repairing severely damaged weapons from Aluphine. The Heavy Bolters were being oiled and cleaned up, the innumerable Lasgun packs were being recharged by the hundreds, and there were so many weapons that Wolf decided to stop looking and look for his gun. The armory was divided into shelves of their respective platoons, which narrowed down to squads. Wolf found his platoon's section and found out his hellgun with the serial number stamped on the butt stock. From there, Wolf took his weapon down and set it down on one of many metals tables. The grenadier pulled up a chair and began the lengthy process of field-stripping the hellgun. Amidst the tinkering of the hellgun, Wolf still could not leave the dream alone.

"All Imperial Guard units, report to your respective company's assembly area. Repeat, all units report to your company's assembly area," the vox-announcer suddenly coming alive, penetrating the quiet the armorium.

Wolf groaned and cursed inside. He put the hellgun back on the shelf and walked out of the armorium. Guardsmen were hurrying and bumping into each other to report to their assembly areas. The grenadier silently passed through all the multi-uniformed men, until he saw more of his Death Korps comrades filing together towards the 1st Company assembly area.

The assembly area was one of the many assembly areas in the transport. It used to be a vehicle bay, but was converted to situate the 700something men all together. The fading midnight blue company banner with the Imperial Eagle was only embellishment in entire room. The platoons were numerically lined in front of each other. The Grenadier Platoon was situated in the very front awhile the Guardsmen stood behind at ease. Wolf approached to join their ranks when he noticed the unusual. In front of the grenadiers were the company's lieutenants sitting behind desks where there were stacks of parchment. That was strange, since the platoon commanders usually stood with their respective command. Also, as he walked in he had noticed there were more platoons of Guardsmen, but none he had recognized within the 1st Company. Something was going on and Wolf wondered what was going on.

Wolf took his place in his squad, right next to Franz. Franz turned and nodded at Wolf's arrival and the two stared ahead. Wolf asked the inevitable.

"You noticed something different?" whispered Wolf.

"Aye, something big is happening," answered Franz.

Silence followed, but it was quickly broken when the lieutenants up front stood from their chairs.

One lieutenant, presumably the second-in-command, announced his message.

"Attention!"

At the word, the men of 1st Company fixed their backs and waited silently, no one turned their head to the back of the room. Footsteps clanged on the gunmetal floor, the echoes resonating within the room. Soon, a retinue of staff officers, vox casters, quartermasters, bodyguards, and three commissars followed a figure in a peaked cap in a leather jacket. The man in the peaked cap was the commanding officer of 1st Company. He was dressed the same as the 1st Company, but carried a saber and a pistol on his side. He also carried a cuirass, a symbol of a high-ranking officer. Once the captain reached the front, he stopped and turned and his retinue filed out behind the desks. The captain momentarily observed his own company.

"At ease," came the command.

The company relaxed and assumed their position. Wolf watched from his spot as the captain pulled a piece of parchment from his left jacket pocket. He saw the company commander look at the piece of paper for a while, but when he put the parchment back is coat pocket. The captain stiffened his back and began the company meeting.

"Men of the 1st Company of the 5th Siege Regiment. I have some important news regarding our destination. The fleet is currently two hours away from breaking the Warp transit to arrive at our destination. I know most of you have been left in the dark about the unusual re-deployment, so I will brief all of you. The 1st Company and along with numerous units from the 25th Siege Army have been transferred to a new campaign. As you may know, this new campaign involves hundreds of regiments and numerous men from Krieg as well. But this campaign is different from the past campaigns the veterans have been, but for the new Guardsmen you are in luck."

"The captain sounds a bit enthusiastic," whispered Franz.

Wolf said nothing because he had a bigger question in his mind.

"What could be bigger than Vraks and Aluphine?" He was sure the veterans were all asking the same question.

The captain continued, relishing his next statement, "Men, you have been given the chance to join one of the rarities of the Imperium's dark history. We are on a crusade."

A crusade.

The bleak and grim room of the assembly area was slightly brightened. Some men were shifting excitedly, but most were dour and still. Wolf himself felt a little elated by the announcement. A crusade was a sign of the Imperium going on a big offensive. Most of the time, the Imperium was either on the defensive or staged small offensive measures, but a crusade was a different story. Crusades rarely happened often, because of the massive resources the Imperium would have to pool in. If the Imperium were truly confidant to take action, it would usually be a crusade. These offensives were usually focused on areas of space that the Imperium's enemies were either threatening major Imperial worlds or already established a foothold in a sector. Such examples were the Sabbat Worlds, the Manchurian, Damocles and dozens more from the Imperium's 10,000-year dark existence. Even the Ruinous Powers went on crusades, twelve Black Crusades that the most recent one occurred at the beginning of M.41, the infamous Gothic War.

The captain sensed a change of air in the room and continued.

"This campaign is the largest to date, even larger than the past crusades that were victorious in the eyes of our Emperor! Our objective is to eliminate a formidable Chaos presence in a sector called Epsilon, on the edge of Segmentums Tempestus and Solar. All Krieg units will be converging on a major planet named Paradiso and we have the honor of being the first Imperial Guard unit to set foot on it. There are two additional battlefleets converging on Paradiso's orbit tomorrow. More of our brothers from Krieg will be joining us to die for the Emperor!"

The captain paused and decided to end it there and continue on the last announcement he had left to share.

"I also have another piece of special news. The Lord Warmaster in charge of the campaign was given an order from the Departmento Munitorum that all Krieg units will be re-organized."

He paused to let the message slowly sink in and after a moment, proceeded.

"Entire Siege Regiments have been ordered to increase a total manpower of about 375,000 men. It seems the re-organization is mostly focused on the infantry, while tanks and artillery are relatively untouched. The infantry is to be split up into three groups, the Grenadiers, Engineers, and the Guardsmen. Individual companies are being reformed as well. As of now, the 1st Company is currently designated as the 1st Grenadier Company, because many of you have survived the crucible on Vraks and Aluphine and have been personally recommended by your Watchmasters. However, the squads will be reorganized so I have here parchments for new orders for every soldier in this company."

The entire company was silent as they awaited additional instructions. The captain then finally gave the concluding order.

"We do not have much time, so we must do this quickly. All platoons will line up numerically in front of the table. State your rank, serial number, and your unit. The faster we get through this, the faster we can do the work of the Emperor!"

"Salute!" came an order from an unknown voice.

All of the Death Korps present saluted at once swiftly. They held it until the captain gave the last order of the day.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Battlefleet Medusa emerged from the Warp and silently glided to their destination. Hundreds of ships of different sizes stalked towards the first planet of the Epsilon Sector, Paradiso. Paradiso was once a world inhabitable thousands of years ago before the Emperor led his Great Crusade. However, the Eldar had terra-formed the inhabitable planet and was one of the crown jewels of the Eldar Empires. After the Eldar's downfall, the humans were slowing expanding their way outward and one of the planets they have settled was Paradiso. When the Great Crusade swept through the Milky Way Galaxy, the planet was not renamed due to its beauty and tranquility. It was a one of a kind planet. However, the humans industrialized and slowly the immaculate planet slowly decayed over 10,000 years. Many rivers were dried up due to the advancement of Human industrialism and many mountains were leveled to make way for the emerging hive cities. The once green grass was slowly eaten away and all that was slowly being left is the numerous industrial buildings and the lifeless earth. The beauty of the planet was slowly being stripped away. However, industrialization has only occurred in the Western Hemisphere of Paradiso and the Lord-Governor of the planet saw no need to expand to the east, being perfectly content staying within the West. Also, the colonists had many thousands-year old superstitions about the east, thus refusing to expand. The weather of the Eastern Hemisphere was very much the image of Paradiso, but it was slowly being trespassed by the Western Hemisphere's industrialization. The entire planet was constituted of 12 continents, 7 continents made up the western half and the rest made up the eastern half. The capital of Paradiso was located right on the border between the West and the East.

Depending on the axis of Paradiso to its distant sun, the sun's rays would still glimmer the dull planet. The beams would emerge though the clouds. Rain would pour down for many days, mostly coming from the Eastern Hemisphere. The rain was seen as a life-sustaining source of clean water to the people in the West, who were slowly suffering from the smog. Paradiso was not of its deserved reputation anymore. When the Chaos emerged from the Warp and laid waste to the surrounding planets, Paradiso was effectively in Traitor control. Paradiso now became a nightmare.

* * *

Wolf was sitting down on the gunmetal floor, with his back leaning on the rucksack. He was no longer in the transport, but in one of the giant battleships with the rest of the 1st Company. The 1st Company and the rest of the 5th Siege Regiment were preparing to go planet side. Along with the regiment, three other siege regiments that made up the 1st Line Korps were preparing to depart from the many vessels of the battlefleet. The 1st Korps' job was to establish a beachhead on the westernmost continent of Paradiso's Western Hemisphere and wait for the rest of the Korps to arrive in strength. Once the Korps were in engaged, other Imperial Guard units will join in on Paradiso and the surrounding planets. The crusade's initial planning was to strike hard and wear down the enemy on one major planet. Awhile the other minor Chaos-held planets were focused on Paradiso, the other fleets will penetrate those planets and attempt to establish a foothold on those planets. Paradiso suited the Korps just fine.

Wolf was no longer with the rest of 1st Grenadier squad. He was reassigned to 5th Grenadier squad of 1st Platoon of 5th Siege Regiment. Along his reassignment he was promoted to Veteran Watchmaster. As Veteran Watchmaster, he was in charge of the 5th squad. He learned the names of the members of the squad, even though names would not matter if one of them should die; or even his own name. The 5th Squad was milling around a big Argus Lighter, waiting for the docking bay's sirens to signal all units to board their transports. Wolf watched as his grenadier squad organized themselves for their upcoming destination.

In his squad, his second-in-command was Corporal Fejhka, a veteran of Aluphine and Vraks.

Lance-Corporal Helken, a veteran of Aluphine, was his personal vox-caster.

Private Mannstein, a new member recently arrived from Aluphine, handled the flamer.

Bombardier Zohlle, a veteran of Aluphine, carried a break-action grenade launcher.

Lance-Corporal Hantshke, veteran of Vraks and Aluphine, had the Stubber.

Private Iago, a new member recently arrived from Aluphine.

Private Laethan, served in the last year at Aluphine. .

Lance-Corporal Falkhen, a veteran of Aluphine.

Private Woehberg, a new member from Aluphine, held the meltagun.

Private Nietxn, a new member recently arrived from Aluphine.

Private Sellvage, served in the last few years of Aluphine.

Corporal Bernik, veteran of the last years of Vraks and Aluphine.

Wolf decided it was time to speak what he had to say.

"On me 5th Squad!"

The men gathered around him and Wolf found what he had to say. He spoke in his usual solemn and lifeless tone.

"It is time. The time for war is now upon us. We will die with honor and dignity for the Korps and the Emperor! Let us carry the shame from our past ancestors who have fought for the Humanity, the Emperor, but most of all for himself."

The squad was silent, but Wolf knew the squad would take his words into fires of battle. He concluded his speech with the last verse from the Litany of Sacrifice.

"Men, In life, war. In death, peace..."

"…In life, shame. In death, atonement," finished the squad.

"Do the Emperor's work and do not let Him or yourself down. You will find a dignified death and free yourself from past sins," concluded Wolf.

Just as he finished the blaring sounds within the giant deck resonated, the sound momentarily made Wolf jump slightly. Wolf knew he did not have much time since all the squads were all boarding their landers. Wolf quickly finished what he had to say.

"Men, trust in the Emperor, and your comrades next to you. Most of all trust in yourself to do what is morally just and right. It is time to purge this world of traitors!"

"Aye sir!" acknowledged the riled-up squad.

Wolf nodded and picked up his rucksack, the other men doing the same. He marched up the boarding platform of the lander and took his seat in the oil-smelling compartment. The men then took their seats inside to the two paralleled rows of seats located on either side of the bulkheads. The Watchmaster then lowered the shoulder harness and strapped his seatbelt. Wolf put his head on the headrest of his seat, tired from today's events. He was glad to go to war; being cooped up in the cell hardly suited any Death Korps Guardsmen. The pressure from the bay door mechanisms made a whooshing sound, indicating it was closing its doors. As the bay door began close, Wolf prayed to the Emperor that he would seek a dignified death. All of a sudden, the image of the female from his dream flashed into his mind. It was like lighting: quick, penetrating and permanently left its mark in Wolf's mind. The veteran slowly closed his eyes, exhaustion taking a toll on him. Finally, Wolf went into a deep slumber, probably his last chance to experience decent sleep for an indefinite time. Or when he dies, he will then be at ease.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is here! Unfortunately guys, the coming weeks will be difficult for me to continue writing this story. I hope to continue writing as much as I can during the next couple of weeks, but it will be a long and difficult process. But do not be alarmed! I will still continue to write and upload more chapters in the future. **

**R/R please and feel free to message me through any means! **

**Thank you!**

**-Warmaster 23 **

Chapter 5: The 1st Day/ Recon

The 5th Siege Regiment had safely made it to the planet's surface. The entire sky had hundreds of transports descending on the ruined on the ruined plateau, each carrying their own specific cargo. The numerous Arvus Lighters landed, unloaded their compartment of Krieg Guardsmen and lifted off to carry more soldiers to the surface. The Vulture and Valkyrie Gunships skied forward, scanning the area in front of the assembling ground troops. The heavier transports, far larger than the Arvuses, carried variants of Leman Russ Battle Tanks, Hellhounds, artillery pieces, super-heavies, and heavier munitions and supplies. The massive troop transports, the Gorgons, were slowly making their way to the front. The artillery soon followed behind the vehicles. Since the Death Korps were Siege specialists, artillery was no doubt what made up the Korps. The small Centaur utility vehicles, whilst carrying the gun crews, tugged the large artillery pieces behind to a designated area. The Infantry immediately met up from their transports to a company rendezvous point.

The First Line Korps was deployed at the westernmost continent of the Western Hemisphere. It was also one of the largest continents on Paradiso. The continent the Krieg regiments were being deployed to what was named the Gladben Continent. Each Line Korps would be designated a sector to situate themselves in, before essentially expanding and moving forward. The First Line Korps itself was stationed in the heartland of Gladben, named Sector 75A by High Command. Once the 1st Line Korps was in place, the Thirty-Fourth Line Korps would make up the second wave and land as well to the south of the Sector 75A. There were seven more Korps to follow behind, so the First Line Korps immediately set to work and marched eastward. Two other Guard armies would have their own objectives in the Southern and Northern areas of Western Hemisphere and make their way down, but this was the Death Korps' Krieg objective was to capture Assumption, the Fortress Capital of Paradiso, and the heart of the traitors. However, it sat in the heart of Paradiso, right in the middle of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Also, there were numerous objectives that would have to be taken before the march to Assumption. Despite the arduous possibility of a long and bloody campaign, this suited the Death Korps like a fitting combat helmet.

The Fifth Squad sat in a Centaur Light Assault, one of many en route eastward. Wolf had a map with the objectives that were marked, along with Helken at his side. It had been the afternoon since arriving on Paradiso a few hours ago. The Watchmaster studied the map with concentration, studying the terrain markers around the first objective. He also observed his surroundings, noticing that Paradiso's weather did not suit its name. The weather was raining, Paradiso's clouds were an ashy gray, and the earth was lifeless. Wolf noticed far away all around him chunks of mountains were leveled, the creek beds were all dried up, and industrial complexes everywhere. This was what remained of Paradiso as far as Wolf can see. No doubt Paradiso was on its way to either become a Hive World or a big manufacturing planet.

The First Grenadier Company was tasked to clear out a major traitor camp that Imperial Navy Thunderbolts had spotted while on reconnaissance. However the planes were thrown off guard when the camp unleashed anti-aircraft fire. The camp was located in a former Imperial Industrial complex. In conjunction, the 2nd and 10th Guard Companies will follow right behind, establishing a defensive perimeter once the objective is taken. From Wolf's current position, the objective was currently five kilometers away and judging from the Centaur's speed, they would be there in 10 minutes.

Wolf was with Helken, who sat with Zohlle, Falkhen, and Iago in Centaur IV. The rest of the squad was in Centaur V. The Centaurs were the first to spearhead Objective I, while the Second and Tenth Guard Companies would follow them behind in the massive Gorgon transports. The entire Siege Regiment was mobilizing eastward to the dried Axen River, five kilometers eastward from Objective I.

A voice crackled from the Centaur's vox unit.

"Approaching Objective I in seven minutes. The Navy is already strafing the complex. Be ready 1st Company!" said the voice of the Captain.

Wolf proceeded to go down mission parameters with his squad and had a vox link from Helken ready.

"5th Squad, check your weapons. Once we leave the Centaurs we meet at the platoon's rendezvous. From there, we await new orders from our lieutenant. All weapons free."

"Aye sir", came the mix of voices.

Wolf nodded and looked at Iago, who was on the Centaur's Stubber, scanning the rapidly approaching objective

"Be ready to open fire at command once we reach the thousand-yard mark."

"Aye sir," came a somewhat youthful voice.

After a few moments, the lieutenant's voice appeared on the vox.

"All squad leaders of 1st Platoon, this is Lieutenant Spaeyer. Our platoon rendezvous is what appears to be a trench at the very front of the enemy's position. Orders are to advance beyond the trench and take eliminate the anti-aircraft batteries. Once that is done, continue to sweep and hold the area. May you die well in combat and fight for Krieg and the Emperor!"

"Aye sir," as Wolf and dozens of voices replied the command.

The driver spoke.

"Approaching target, 1,000 yards."

Iago's Stubber answered the call, shooting large slugs at the position. Soon every centaur of the 5th Grenadiers answered the call, working to suppress the enemy position. As the slug shells were being ejected onto the metal floor, Wolf had his field glasses from his canvas bag and watched the enemy's position. The enemy was currently scrambling to get their weapons and finding cover. Despite the movement, heavy anti-aircraft fire continued to pour into the sky into the clouds. No doubt the enemy was keen to kill as much of the invading force, but it was hard when they had an enfilade of Stubber fire and the dodging planes strafing at you.

The enemy was slow to react, already firing their heavy weapons at the enemy. Wolf heard Heavy Bolter and Autocannon fire screaming at him. A nearby Centaur was struck hard and had its fragile armor crumbled like parchment. The Centaur was smoking and the Grenadiers on board quickly left to find a Centaur to hitchhike from. However others were not so lucky. A few Centaurs suffered extensive damage, including the Grenadier teams on board. The Centaurs were taking casualties as the fire intensified. A heavy bolt slammed home into a grenadier's face, who was firing the Stubber, exploded with blood and brain matter all over. Without a word, another grenadier made his way to the Stubber and continued firing.

The enemy is well armed, thought Wolf. Soon a few Heavy Bolter rounds ricocheted from the Centaur's armor.

"100 yards!" shouted the driver.

The men readied themselves for deployment, last minute checks on their weapons. Wolf checked his Hellgun's power cords to the power supply behind his back. After being satisfied, Wolf waited. What seemed like an eternity soon turned into reality. Wolf felt the ground shift underneath them and soon they were on an incline. Slug and Las rounds discharged all around him. Then something impacted hard on the right side of the vehicle. There was an unusual sound, a sound like a door creaking on unoiled hinges. Immediately Wolf knew that was a bad sign. Soon, Wolf realized they were slowing down and stopped suddenly. They were 50 yards away from the enemy's lines. The Watchmaster moved up towards the front seat.

"Driver, how bad is it?" asked Wolf.

"Our right tread was hit by bolt rounds and we are immobilized," said the driver, who was still trying to see if the vehicle had any power to continue on.

Wolf pondered for a moment and spoke again.

"My team will disembark and continue forward. Is your Stubber working?"

The driver checked the slug-weapon next to his seat and nodded back.

"Aye, I have enough munitions. I'll cover your team the best I can, because I can only now sit tight and wait."

"Affirmative driver. Team 1, disembark!" yelled Wolf.

Team 1 disembarked and waited behind the vehicle, rounds still discharging and the sounds of battle all around them. The large thunder of the Stubber shells echoes in the midst of battle. Wolf looked forward ahead. The terrain ahead of them is open, but due to the vehicle wreckages, there was cover to exploit. There was a small depression about 20 yards ahead of them, suitable for cover.

Wolf turned to Helken.

"See if you can raise Team 2 and inform them of their whereabouts."

Helken immediately tried to hail second team. After a second, he was patched in to Team 2's communications. Wolf was not paying attention Helken's conversation, as he continued to find another way to the trench intact. The centaurs were still coming and the Gorgons will not be far behind.

Helken spoke after a few minutes.

"Watchmaster, they are at the trench but are pinned down with remnants of Platoons 2, 3, and 6. Team 2 reports there is razor wire blocking their way. They also observed there are explosives at the wire as well. However, they see no engineers in from their position, but more men are continuing their way towards the trench."

Wolf paused to formulate the best way to get through the defenses. He then spoke.

"Good work. All right, we got some running ahead of us."

He huddled his squad for what he wants to do next. Slug rounds bouncing off the immobilized vehicles and ruby-colored las discharges singed its armor.

"The vehicles are our only source of cover, but within 30 yards I see a depression just before the trench. From the depression, we can make our way to the trenches. I know it sounds simple, but it is open ground so one of could be dead if we don't do this right."

The squad nodded in asset, acknowledging the task before them will not be easy.

"Ready? Let's move out!"

* * *

Stalking like a predator in search of prey, Lessenia and her cadre of Banshees merged with the darkness. In front of them are the Scorpions, lead by her old friend Uansi. The force was slowly making their way among the brushes of chest-high vegetation, with the large relay tower visible from a distance. They had emerged from the forest north of the tower, but there was still a lot of ground to cover. It was late in the night, but Lessenia trained hard for her eyes to adjust to the darkness prior before putting on her helm. The moon was full tonight, which its rays reflected off the armor of the Aspect warriors. The wind was slightly blowing to the northwest as the team crept into the night of the Paradiso's Eastern Hemisphere. There was no resistance or any sign of Chaos activity once the strike team made their way from a small, but hidden Webway portal.

The assault was planned in one of the Chaos' northern holdings of the Eastern Hemisphere's 5 large continents. Already the enemy had taken over the West and had established themselves to the north. In fact, the Eldar force was deep within enemy lines, a huge gamble by the Autarch. The strike teams' orders were to cause havoc among the Chaos near the communications rely so the main vanguard could spearhead their way to the Warp gate. Lessenia had her glaive poised, and silently walked through the rustling of the tall grass. As she walked, she had time to reflect the events that have happened prior to the assault. So far she had no more visions and was no longer concerned about sleeping. It was because of her willpower to reject her vision and focused it upon her enemies she was able to forget what she had dreamed. However despite the relief from her experiences, she could still feel the foreboding signs. She had an instinctive feeling that this was not over. It was like an unfinished book, opened, and room still left over for a plot twist. However, she shook her head away from the thought. As she shook her head, her stomach started to act strangely.

"Uh no," murmured Lessenia.

"Lessenia, are you all right?" called a voice out.

Lessenia snapped back into reality and saw Uansi turned his head towards her, concern in his voice. There was no need to worry her old friend. Not yet.

"Yes, Uansi. Thank you for your concern," replied quickly the Banshee.

Uansi nodded and continued to focus forward. Lessenia detested lying to her oldest friend, but unfortunately this personal matter of hers shall not befall on those close to her. Eventually she would have to tell him, but not now.

Uansi stopped suddenly and Lessenia turned to see that he was on his right, observing the area in front of the force. They were close to the relay tower and Lessenia can pick out the smoke from the south. So quietly sneaked forward to Uansi, who was still observing.

"Do you see something Uansi?" whispered Lessenia, who was struggling to see what the Scorpion saw.

Uansi lifted his left arm and pointed to the south.

"They are here. I can smell the sickening stench kilometers away. Also I can see out a traitor patrol on sentry duty. They have a fire going, but are standing still. No doubt we can easily lure them out and deal with them quietly."

"Excellent. How do you want to play this out?" asked Lessenia.

Uansi pondered on the matter, judging the best sort of action. Knowing Lessenia that he would want to personally take the enemy personally, but Scorpions had chainswords. And chainswords made noise. He opted for her stealthier friend to go.

"You go Lessenia," said Uansi, "your warriors have finesse in their killing and we need it while it lasts. Also, most of your warriors are untested, so this would be a good opportunity for them."

Lessenia nodded in thanks.

"But be sure to save some for us," joked Uansi quietly.

The Banshee could not help but chuckle to herself. She signaled the Banshees behind her and slowly crept towards the unaware enemy. The enemy camp was 30 yards from the Banshee's position. There were a few razed buildings where the camp was so the Banshees have an opportunity to strike the enemy from multiple directions. But she opted to lure them out.

They have reached a small riverbed that extends between the Banshees and the camp. Along the riverbed, numerous rocks and pebbles were strewn along the edges of the river. Lessenia observed her surroundings. After some observing, she noticed many times that when an unusual sound was heard, the traitors frequently stopped what they were doing and looked for the source of the sound. After the few minutes they resumed their mundane tasks.

Fools, thought Lessenia. She quickly hatched a plan. The Exarch formed her Banshees close and spoke.

"The enemy is close. Usually we would not have to rely on stealth for our task, but we have it utilize it for this one", explained Lessenia, "our strategy is that the enemy is easily aware of the little sounds the night produces. However, they are not proactive enough to seek the source of the sound. This is the chance to prove to me you are ready to be tested in the fire. I want all of you to split and attack and enemy from behind."

Lessenia paused to observe the enemy momentarily and continued.

"I will distract them by using rocks so a few of them would come and investigate. The rest of you will eliminate them, but no warcries. Remember stealth and efficiency is of the essence. Do you understand, Banshees?" asked Lessenia.

"Yes, Exarch," announced the 9 Banshees.

"Go Banshees. May the god of war and Jain Zar follow to victory."

Immediately the plan went into motion. Lessenia crept into the water, which was up to her knees, and observed her cadre splitting up to either flanks. She took a few decent-sized rocks in her right and waited for the time is right. Lessenia moved up closely, ten yards away from the camp. The Banshee hefted a rock and chucked it far into the camp.

The rock had slammed home into the middle of the camp, and Lessenia heard a few barely audible voices from the enemy. She chucked a rock again and this time the enemy decided to investigate. Two traitor Guardsmen out of group of 10 walked cautiously towards the water. Lessenia already was away from her previous location; as the enemy walked to the riverbed, she was already out of plain sight, with her gladius ready at hand. While she stalked the humans, she prayed silently to Khaine and Jain Zar. The enemy continued to scan with their weapons but saw nothing. All of a sudden, a stifle of gurgles and moans emerged from the camp. The two tainted soldiers immediately turned around and as they, Lessenia was immediately behind them. She decided to not use her Glaive and took out her gladius from her thigh pouch.

Like a finger skimming on water's surface, she gracefully sprinted to the unknown enemy. The one closest to hear started to turn his head, but before he could swing his weapon, her gladius' tip was poised. She put her left hand over his mouth to puller his head back and slit his throat. The traitor gurgled and started to drown in his own blood. Immediately he poached the second one, who then turned his weapon around. He managed to squeeze the trigger and that was the last action he made. Lessenia already brought her strong left arm and brought the traitor close to her as she stuck her gladius into his abdomen. She twisted the blade, cutting through his vitals organs and spine. Once she withdrew and let the body drop, Lessenia raced towards the camp.

Once she reached the camp, she realized the work was already done. Her Banshees have followed her orders to the letter and proved they were ready for a bigger fight. The eight remaining bodies were expertly killed, either a slit throat or a clean thrust to the abdomen and back. She nodded on the grisly work. Lessenia observed the dead bodies. They were attired in what looked like militia uniforms, but the cursed 8-pointed star was scribed on various parts of their uniforms. Some looked like in the process of mutation, which was evidence there was a strong Chaos presence. She was aware there will be tougher foes to face, but these corrupted militia are still a threat in large numbers. Without a word, she and her cadre proceeded back towards the Scorpions. Uansi was waiting patiently along with his own cadre of Scorpions.

"Lessenia," said the Exarch, "did you save any of them for me and my Scorpions?"

Lessenia smiled slightly, "I am sorry Uansi, but the bone is picked clean."

Although the two Exarches had their helms on, they knew each other well enough to understand the facial expressions underneath the helms. Uansi grunted in assent.

"Next time yes?" asked Uansi.

"Yes, but we need to keep moving. We have stalled long enough."

"Aye, let us get to it."

The Scorpions and Banshees continued forward. Once they passed the camp, the terrain shifted. The grass transitioned to gravel and stone. The urban setting started to slowly emerge from the countryside. More destroyed buildings had surrounded the party as they made their way towards the relay tower, which was clear in view.

Lessenia developed a disturbance ahead of them. She knew Chaos were just beyond the small ridge ahead of them, just like what the Autarch had said. However there was a question forming into her mind: Where were the Rangers? The Rangers have not established contact with the small strike team, but assumingly they were headed to the same objective as Lessenia and Uansi had. It was no doubt in Lessenia's mind that Pathfinder Kjasanda had the vengeful desire to avenge his fallen Rangers, but despite his vendetta he would still coordinate with the Eldar assault. However that it may be.

Uansi pointed ahead to a small clearing, with the relay tower in sight.

"There, we can spy on the enemy forces on that ridge."

Lessenia nodded and proceeded through the dilapidated urban setting. She and the rest of the strike team kept a close eye all around here, aware there might be more enemies lurking in the shadows. It was a perfect setting for an ambush; the strike team could be hit from both of their flanks. Lessenia was surprised that there were no more enemy patrols beside the ones on the edges of the city. By the time she had that thought pass through her mind, the team reached the clearing. The team lay low and spied from their vantage point, with the relay tower below them. They were about 75 meters about the ground and the Eldar had the enemy within their sights.

However, something struck Lessenia hard in the stomach as she watched the enemy below here. She had a penetrating feeling in her stomach and she knew what she saw before her was much larger and more sickening than what the Eldar had predicted. Lessenia spoke to Uansi, who was still staring out at the enemy's camp.

"This is troubling Uansi," her voice a bit shocked.

"Aye, this is much worse than we have anticipated, Lessenia."

Uansi turned to Lessenia, his voice a tad unnerved.

"Let us hope the vanguard is ready for this."


	6. Chapter 6

**I finally have Chapter 6 up! I would like to apologize to my readers for the extended delay. The past events were really busy for me, but I am happy to let all of you know that I have decided to put my energies to the story for a little bit before logging off. Please continue with reviews and crits or any pointers that I may have forgotten or confused with. Your reviews have contributed greatly to my story and I am pleased what readers had in mind. Please keep them coming! **

**Again, thank you all for your patience and please enjoy!**

**-Warmaster 23**

Chapter 6: The End of The Beginning/

"Stand ready!" came the voice of Lieutenant Spaeyer, who was narrowly grazed by shrapnel of a renegade's grenade.

Checking the status of his red-hot hellgun, Wolf calmly readied his weapon at hand. The remnants of the First Platoon did the same and squirmed in anticipation of the inevitable frontal assault on the renegade fortification.

It was a quagmire. The First Platoon and the rest of the company were pinned down by the torrential firepower of the enemy. They were behind schedule, because in a about a few minutes, the Second Guards Company will be on top of the Grenadiers. Wolf could see the Gorgons of the Second Guards slowly grinding their way forward behind the Grenadiers. They were brushing aside destroyed Centaurs and crushing the grenadier casualties who were still out in the fields.

Fortunately, the second fire-team emerged from the carnage to reunite with Wolf's team. The only casualty was Nietxn, who was ripped away by an Autocannon round during the second fire-team's advance. Watchmaster- Corporal Fejhka acknowledged his death with a grunt.

There were only a few grenadiers in the company who have long-ranged armaments enough to hassle the enemy from a distance. Bombardier Zohlle was steadily releasing high-explosive grenades over the barbed-wire shingle and steep incline of earth. However, the enemy was still killing the grenadiers at a much faster rate. A mortar plastered three grenadiers; the payload chewed out their bodies entirely, which whatever remained, flew all over the huddled grenadiers. Wolf was only six feet away from the impact. The screams of the dying resonated throughout the trench, only to become louder or quieter wherever an enemy shell landed.

There, however, was some degree of accomplishment. There some grenadiers and those of the engineers attached to the company who were all too willing to cut the razor wire in front of them. The unrelenting barrage of mortars cut many of them down, but those Krieg men have managed to cut enough of the barbed wire that multiple channels were open to company. However, the result of these openings would force multiple bottlenecks at the wire, which would herd the grenadiers to a massacre.

However, the Death Korps knew the price of victory. They all knew they would die at some point, so if not now, when?

Wolf was one of the closest grenadiers to the wire, because all non-commissioned officers and officers were to lead their men by example. The Veteran Watchmaster did not need to recite the Litany of Sacrifice again, for he had already done so during the advance across the open plain to reach the rendezvous.

"At the command, prepare platoon-wide assault on the enemy! For the Emperor and Krieg!" yelled Spaeyer.

"For the Emperor and Krieg!" roared the men of Krieg, but their voice could not be heard over the din of the scream of enemy shells still raining death on them. Wolf stared at Spaeyer to his left and then returned his focus frontward at the razor wire. The feelings of an inevitable death seemed to be shared throughout every single man in the trench.

Spaeyer looked to his left and right and then raised his chainsword in the air.

"Now!"

Yelling at their own inevitable death, the whole tide of midnight-blue clad grenadiers emerged as one to move through the open wire. Many fell as an enemy shell exploded in front of them, tearing their bodies like ripping parchment. Wolf moved as quickly as he could through the wire, because if one body blocked the channel, then it was the end for him and his comrades. He successfully passed through the wire, despite the few tears of his greatcoat. Another shell screamed past behind Wolf as more screams coming from the men of Krieg filled the air. Explosions continued to rain on the enemy, followed by a few bursts from the Heavy Bolters and Autocannons. Wolf immediately sprinted towards the enemy positions, only to take cover if enemy fire was too heavy to advance. The entire area was pockmarked by artillery from both sides, so there was a lot of cover to be exploited.

The renegades seemed to change armaments at the sight of the rushing tide of grenadiers. Wolf could hear the brief interval of silence from switching to long-range ordnance to the more refined way of killing, the automated weapons. It was not long before the symphony of weapons crashed towards the grenadiers, who were quickly spread out in general advancement. Wolf's squad continued forward, weathering the storm of slug, bolt, shrapnel, and las. They fired as they advanced: Zohlle releasing round after round of grenades, Hantshke firing the Stubber from the hip, and all members of 5th Squad contributed to suppress the enemy. The enemy however, held their ground and continued to pick off the men of Krieg like target practice.

Wolf took cover behind a destroyed ferrocrete emplacement that an Imperial round has seemingly destroyed it early in the battle. The 5th squad followed his suit. The rest of the platoon were fanning out and continuing their advance ahead of Fifth squad. Wolf looked over the ferrocrete emplacement and scanned the pockmarked area ahead of him. There was still a ways to go ahead, about 300 yards between him and the enemy lines. The renegades have established a crude trench network, which consisted of only three trenches, about three miles wide. All the trenches were connected via smaller channels that ran perpendicular to the three. Wolf observed multiple Heavy Stubber and Bolter emplacements and a mortar also. It was a compact design of means of fortifying an area, but its compact design would be useless unless the renegades decided to emerge from their trenches to counter-attack.

Wolf gestured his squad to follow suit.

"Onward, men!" shouted Wolf, as he vaulted over the destroyed bunker and advanced briskly into the open field.

All around him, the grenadiers worked briskly to establish a tempo for their advancement. Explosions had rocked the ground as the enemy attempted to turn away the Imperials with their mortar fire. Wolf aimed his heavy hellgun and fired as he moved. Firing in short bursts to an advancing squad of renegades in front, five were dropped immediately, the stopping power of the high-powered las easily penetrating whatever protection they had. The grenadiers are now advancing like a tidal wave, eliminating little pockets of resistance of the renegades. The men of Fifth Squad threw grenades and fired at their foes, whose advance seemed to slow down and then unmistakably assimilated into a fighting-retreat.

The sound of slug pinged off his carpace cuirass, momentarily disrupting Wolf's movement. Another slammed home into his greaves, almost knocking him off balance and into the ground. Momentarily dazed, he nevertheless continued to pour fire into the renegades. Soon, Wolf feel down into the earth.

"Sir, are you all right?" came the voice of Private Iago, who was firing from the hip with his hellgun, trying to suppress the renegades. He used his other arm to help his Watchmaster up on his feet.

"Aye, lad, do not worry about me! Continue on with the objective!" grunted Wolf. Wolf checked all over his body, but no slug had found him to cause egregious harm.

"Too bad," thought Wolf grimly. He slowly got himself up and staggered a bit. A sharp pain kicked in his stomach and WOlf knew exactly what it was. No slug penetrated him, but his own insides did. Wolf feel on both knees and dropped his gun. Iago himself dropped his gun and tried to help the Watchmaster.

"Sir!" came the cry of Iago.

Wolf stared at the ground and went all fours from the pain. If it was not a slug round, then it must be the gut feeling that has been niggling him for quite a while. This time it came back stronger than before, almost rendering Wolf immobile. Wolf swore that the feeling would pass, a natural occurrence that should have went away at Aluphine. Why now? Why of all times must it come now? Many questions raced into his head. However one seemed to the most profound question. Could this be a sign or omen that correlates with the dream? Impossible, Wolf thought.

"Maybe its not the gut feeling, but just the beginning of a slow burnout," Wolf told himself. Wolf sweated a little more under his respirator but now he was on his knees and slowly getting back to his feet. The world did not stop because he fell down, rather it kept going. The grenadiers were still pressing forward and the Second and Tenth Guards were close behind them. He held his free hand to his stomach, his gloves massaging the carpace plate while he picked up the hellgun with his firing hand. Wolf laid a reassuring hand on Iago's shoulder.

"Let's move Private. Our comrades will be gone before we reach the trenches."

"Yes, sir."

The renegades were still retreating, going far past the first trench line and onward. The air was filled with frag grenades from the grenadiers, who did everything they had to kill a renegade. Wolf aimed his hellgun and continued to suppress and hamper the retreating renegades. The symphony of weapon discharges now came from the men of Krieg, who now stopped at nothing to use the cold steel. The voices of the men grew widespread as they grew closer to the trenches.

"Move it!"

"Don't give them the chance to re-organize!"

"Press on, men! In death lies victory!"

Without thinking, Wolf pulled the pin of a frag grenade and heaved it to a group of four renegades, who were about to dismantle a Heavy Bolter emplacement in fire-post of the trench. As a result, the explosion eviscerated the renegades followed by a series of smaller explosions emerged from the Heavy Bolter ammunition. The scrams of the dying filled the air, but Wolf paid no heed to it. They were close to their objective.

The grenadiers all across the front have made significant progress and some had already entered the enemy trenches. Wolf noticed they were much closer than he had originally believed. In a few moments, he would reach the enemy trenches and the vicious hand-to-hand combat would begin.

Wolf turned and shouted back to his squad.

"Private Mannstein, you are on point!"

"Aye, sir!" came the reply.

The lean grenadier with the flamer briskly advanced in front of the squad as they neared the first trench line.

Wolf could see the renegades were not in the first trench line, but it was likely they are hiding out in the underground pockets, provided if they went far to construct them. Before he knew it, Wolf reached the trench line and jumped on top of a plasteel duckboard. Wolf took a brief moment to survey his surroundings. The trenches were not tall in comparison to the Krieg regiments, but then again who would want to waste time digging a trench that exceeded your height? Only the Death Korps had the patience for the endeavor. Wolf's head popped out of the surface, which thus exposed himself and his squad to enemy fire coming behind the trench line. There were many renegade dead, mostly due to the accurate indirect fire of Krieg artillery and Navy bombing runs. There were areas of the trench that were almost uprooted by the Imperials and the dead earth caked and flocked the area. Pockets of fire and smoke have settled in the trenches, continuing to proliferate its effects.

It was relatively calm; there were weapon discharges and the sound of shells still echoed in the air. The voices and shouts from the grenadiers permeated throughout the trench as more and more piled in the trench. They ruthlessly finished off any renegades who were still in the trench line. The grenadiers rarely took prisoners depending on the mission objectives. For now every enemy was expendable. Wolf saw Corporal Bernik to his left plunged his bayonet into the chest of a wounded renegade, who was trying to crawl away from the Imperials. Mannstein did not even unleash the precious promethium payload from his flamer; this kind of work was for the handy steel blades the Death Korps are so fond of.

Wolf tuned to the rest of Fifth squad, who were finishing off any renegades left in the trench line.

"We must move on. We still have a ways to go to clean up the rest of the traitor camp."

A few second later, the familiar voice of Spaeyer crackled from the Helken's vox-set.

"First Platoon, be advised. We have fellow incoming elements of Imperial Guard converging on the primary objective. Elements of the Second and Tenth Companies will converge on the objective. All squads watch your fire. I repeat, watch your fire. Spaeyer, out." The vox-set went silent.

"Tell them that," replied the gruff Fejhka nonchalantly. Few members of the squad grimly chuckled at Fejhka's not-so subtle statement

"Corporal Fejhka, are you mocking the commanding officer?" warned Wolf, whose tone was hard.

"No sir, apologies, sir," acknowledged Fejhka, who realized his mistake of slightly jesting a commanding officer's announcement.

Wolf said nothing any more about the matter. He was already scanning the area ahead of him, but had no idea what was beyond the third trench line. All around him, the entire company was already moving out and just behind them, the second wave of Krieg reinforcements were advancing.

"Mannstein."

"Sir?" came the response.

"You are on point again. Lead the way."

Wolf turned to Mannstein and nodded. Although they were all wearing respirators, Wolf could tell Mannstein was relishing the task of being the point man. Without a word, the flamer-welding grenadier briefly saluted and advanced to the nearest trench passage that connected the first trench to the second. Wolf and the rest followed right behind him, trudging through the badly constructed trenches with little difficulty.

Wolf cautiously scanned the area as the squad proceeded to the third trench line. From his past experiences, there was always a lurking enemy soldier, ready to pounce from an unknown location, whether it was a dugout or a hidden passageway. He had almost died on Vraks and Aluphine due to these ambushes. For some reason, there were no ambushes or a hiding spot to be found. It seemed the renegades spent little time to continue to improve their earthworks. The squad was now in the third trench line, with more dead renegades and some dead grenadiers from a recent skirmish. The sound of weapons grew louder and Mannstein changed his advancing pace to a quickstep. The squad followed him at the quick, knowing there is a battle to be won in name of Imperium and the Korps.

* * *

Lessenia quietly made her way down the high ground where she was just spying with Uansi on the Chaos position. They had to be, since the enemy was well established in front of the Warp gate. The two Exarches with their bands of warriors advanced silently down the grass-covered incline. Nothing was heard except of the footsteps of the Eldar as they made their way to the devastated city in front of them. Once they had reached the base of the hill, they had to figure out the safest location of the city to spy on the enemy. Uansi suggested they work their way to the main square where the Chaos Warp Gate was. Lessenia agreed. Since they were now deep in enemy territory, they had to exercise noise and psychic discipline.

Lessenia and Uansi continued to cautiously make their way close to the plaza, while trying to become aware if there were any renegade patrols lurking around. They stooped at the doorway, while Uansi and Lessenia sneaked out of the doorway that led to a heavily dilapidated main road and into a crater hole. The Chaos had surprised them; in front of the Warp Gate there were a ten Chaos Space Marines who were bathed in the light of burning pyres with corpses on top of them. The Chaos Marines had armor of coal-black with golden, but heavily textured trims. The cursed eight-pointed star and an eye was their insignia. The air stank of burnt flesh and smoke, combined with the tortured human screams that filled the air. But the greatest threat was the Sorcerer, but there was no Sorcerer in the vicinity. While there was no sorcerer to be seen, there was another character in the fire-illuminated area. Amidst of the corrupted humans who were working on the earthworks, a huge Space Marine with inhuman decorations of skulls and seared flesh. It almost completely dwarfed the ten space marines surrounding them! Lessenia quietly signaled to the rest of her Banshees, to join them into a crater hole along with the Scorpions. Meeting the Eldar in the crater hole were flayed bodies of the humans, most likely inhabitants of the city when Chaos arrived. Behind the Chaos marines, the Warp Gate was on the verge of completion. The massive blood-colored psychic energies of the gate nearly covered it entire Chaos position in a veil of ruby-red. The gate was fashioned in a large arch, where the dimension of the Warp meets the material world. Its surface was like blood, but the veteran Banshee knows there is not much time before the unspeakable horrors cross over to the physical world. Lessenia felt its effects briefly, but due to her mental psychic conditioning she quickly recovered from the huge impulses of energy. She was not the only starting to feel its effects: one Banshee briefly touched her temple with one finger, while a Scorpion reflexively massaged his sword arm.

She was slightly puzzled at the sight: usually whenever Chaos attacked a planet, they would attack in the numbers of a warband. From what she was seeing now, those numbers do not show. At the same time, she could see figures standing in line in front of the half constructed Warp Gate, about fifty yards from her point of view. Even with her war mask on, she cannot see what was going on from such a distance. Everything in this place was evil, and it was time to cleanse the place from Chaos filth.

But Lessenia was deeply troubled. Could there be more of the enemy we do not see? The information provided by the Rangers detected the strong psychic presence of a Chaos sorcerer. Lessenia felt the air stank of psychic and warp energy; he was definitely present, but not visible. The Banshee had the sense that the cursed sorcerer was lurking around, maybe aware that there are only about two full squads of Eldar that could be easily wiped out.

The corrupted humans were obviously doing the dirty work of creating earthworks and fortifications all around the half-constructed Warp Gate. Uansi seemed to read her mind as he spoke in a quiet manner, low enough that the Banshees and Scorpions cannot hear him.

"I fear there could be more. It seems way too easy to have such a small Chaos band in front of us," observed Uansi, his tone unusually cautious.

"Yes," agreed the pondering Lessenia, " but do we still have any word from Pathfinder Kjasanda?"

"No," said a noticeably irritated Uansi as he shook his head, "and I have tried to reach out, but he seems to shake it off like it is of no concern."

Lessenia said nothing for a brief second, collecting whatever tactical approach that laid in front seems the most prudent. Amidst of her thinking, she was given a widespread telepathic message from the Autarch, whose tone seems a bit urgent.

"Exarches, the vanguard is currently on standby just east of your position. The northern forces are now consolidating as we speak. You all must quickly distract the enemy or they would soon find us. Time is of the essence, Exarches."

When the message ended, Lessenia quickly formulated the best approach and conferred to Uansi, who nodded in agreement. Uansi turned to his Scorpions and gathered them together. After a brief moment, the Scorpions jumped out of the crater hole and silently made their way to the Chaos' left flank. Uansi stayed behind briefly and clasped his had to Lessenia's. The pair's feelings emanated in both of their minds, promising to each other they would not fail each other.

"May Khaela Mensha Khaine watch over you and bring death to our enemies," said Uansi, his grip tightening as he spoke.

"And to you as well."

Uansi nodded and climbed out of the hole to return to his Scorpions, until he was no longer in sight of Lessenia.

She turned to her Banshees and gestured for them to gather around her. Her host of Banshees listened attentively to their Exarch.

"I have spoken to Exarch Uansi of the Striking Scorpions about our tactical approach. Judging from our position, we are where we want to be for now. We were fortunate that we managed to silence their patrol parties, or else this attack would be more complicated and disastrous."

She turned and pointed out to the Chaos fortifications and the gate.

"There is a lot of cover that encompasses the Chaos stronghold. However that does not mean there is no Chaos there," continued Lessenia, "for now, we have to do a little reconnaissance along with the Scorpions and kill any chaos in our vicinity. We hide and wait for the Scorpions to attack first. We must draw those Hellspawn away from the Warp Gate by any means for the vanguard's attack to succeed. With Khaine's blessing, the vanguard will be here to follow up in force."

Lessenia pressed on with her plan.

"This is a reconnaissance setup until the Scorpions launch the attack. So that means limited contact with the enemy; if you are seen, then you must either eliminate the threat quietly or withdraw. That is up to you."

As the Banshee spoke, she slowly turned her gaze to every single Banshee in front o her. She knows one of them will not come out of this alive and Lessenia wanted to make this message a personal note. She decided to end it with a conciliatory statement.

"Make me proud, Banshees. Remember your training. The most important thing is that you are fighting for those around you and the Craftworld", said Lessenia, her tone solemn, " are there any questions before we head off?"

"No, Exarch Altra'ic, " replied the Banshees, their tone confident, but no revealing of cockiness. Lessenia smiled briefly under her mask; she had taught them well.

Lessenia nodded briefly before the final command.

"Reconnaissance formation, Banshees. Follow my lead."

She climbed over the crater hole and crouch-walked to the right flank of the Chaos encampment. The hum of the Chaos Warp Gate grew steadily and Lessenia knew that it was a bad sign. She quickly covered the areas with her graceful stride, but quiet enough that it would not attract attention to a negligent renegade. Silently she took Executioner out from its sheath, knowing she will need it in the coming moments. Her Banshees did the same, upholstering this swords and Shruiken pistols for the coming battle. As she ran, she gestured to different areas of the destroyed buildings and side streets for her Banshees to take cover in. Moving in groups of three, the Banshees split up and were evenly spaced at decent intervals among the destruction. Lessenia herself joined the last group, climbing over the rock and steel to make them unknown until the moment came. Rock and steel shards shifted under her crouching walk, seeming making a racket in the relatively quiet atmosphere of the dead city.

From her position looking through an opening in the building's structure, they were directly alongside of the earthworks. It was a near-textbook setting for an ambush, however that was not their objective. The corrupted were still working on the trenches and this time Lessenia had a better look at the Chaos Space Marines. Black Legion. A chill went down Lessenia. It was the worst, as she had never imagined. The Black Legion, one of the most infamous menaces of the galaxy, had come to Paradiso to lay waste in its countless episodes of genocide for the Ruinous powers. Names like Horus and The Despoiler were still etched in history as the leading figures of the Infamous Horus Heresy. Horus is dead, but who takes the mantle of becoming Warmaster of Chaos and personally blessed by the Chaos gods? The Despoiler, instigator of many cursed crusades had recently come to blows with the Eldar Craftworlds for his almost successful attempt to capture the dreaded Blackstone Fortresses. The thought of The Despoiler on Paradiso was enough to give the Autarch of a Craftworld a Herculean task.

The strangest thought that passed through Lessenia's mind was why the Black Legion came here. The significance of Paradiso to Chaos' interests stupefied her, because of such a large chaos presence that was felt in the surrounding systems. Also the dream.

The dream.

The Banshee had completely forgotten about the dream. The Pleasure God was going to do something. What was it and why at Paradiso? What was it that she could not understand? A headache slowly emerged again, but this time Lessenia was prepared to stamp out the dream's relapse effect. She had to stop thinking about it, but she knows she will remember it for as long as she lived.

Lessenia was hoping to move down the flank more, but she cannot risk advancing along the right anymore; the Banshees were deep in enemy territory, and any movement seen could arouse suspicion to the enemy. It would put herself and the Banshees in a horrible circumstance before the vanguard could arrive.

"Lessenia, are you ready?"

Lessenia was caught off guard by the telepathic message from Uansi.

"Yes, we are ready. We have encountered no enemy patrols, " messaged Lessenia, " how are you holding up?"

"Few pitiful humans got in the way, but they are taken care of," replied Uansi, in an amused tone.

It was then Lessenia decided to ask a fruitless question.

"Have you hear from Pathfind…"

"He finally responded!" exploded Uansi. Lessenia almost jumped from her position from the outburst.

" Kjasanda told me that he is holding up just north of the enemy position! Told me he has a defilade in his position."

Lessenia gave a sigh of relief. She had feared the worst, but she understood Kjasanda's choler was still present at this time. At least she could expect sniper support from him and the Rangers.

Uansi chuckled dryly.

"He also told me that he could see our position from where he is. Sharp-eyed bastard."

"Now, now," began Lessenia, clearly not really in the mood for Uansi's antics.

"Yes I know; me and the most inopportune moments of humor. Get ready, Lessenia, this will be a big one." His last statement had same feral anticipation Lessenia had recognized in the past centuries.

Uansi's communication ended and the Howling Banshee decided to check in on her other Banshees, who reported they were doing well and were well-hidden. She then decided to contact the Autarch, to let her know the raid will take place soon. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to travel in the Webway to contact her Autarch.

"Honorable Autarch, we are in position and soon we are…"

The thought was quickly broken when a flash of blue and purple followed by a series of supersonic bangs emanated throughout the plaza. Lessenia jumped at the sudden introductory bang of the Eldar raid. Even the air seemed to blow back as the resulting explosion. All around the corrupted scrambled to gather their weapons and search out for the enemy. The Chaos Marines were gesturing instructions and bark incoherently to their human scum, who were still dazed by the unknown attack. Once the introductions were made, Lessenia and the Banshees made their move. They silently along the edges of the plaza, watching the Chaos move in every direction to find the source of the explosion.

Lessenia caught sight of a group of fifteen corrupted humans making their way towards them amidst the rubble. Lessenia turned to her Banshees and nodded. The Banshees understood what she ordered and in a millisecond they spread out in their groups along the right flank, hassling and avoiding enemies as they went. The Exarch attached herself to a group and prepared to skirmish with the enemy. The enemy was getting closer, but their eyes were not adjusted enough to the darkness. Lessenia led the group and then prepared to activate one of the most deadly and iconic devices of the Eldar armory: the pyschosonic amplifiers.

With the combination of her weapons and the ear-piercing screams emitted from her helmet, the end result would be as quick as to lifting a finger.

The attack on the Warp Gate has begun and now it was only a matter of time before Chaos would clearly discover who was facing them and Lessenia hoped the Autarch would be on time for the occasion.


	7. Chapter 7

**After a month, this is the product of it. I have planned to make changes and varieties of the characters' narratives in order to not condense multiple narratives into one. ** **At the same time, I am writing a new story that is separate from the 40k genre. This more focused on Wolf's point of view. I hope to find some sort of rhythm to continue this story. ****Again, reviews are most welcome. Please enjoy and thank you.  
**

**-Warmaster23  
**

Chapter 7: No Blood, No Gain

It had turned out there was another fortification complex behind the trenches. From Wolf had remembered, the artillery and generally the weaker enemies were stationed behind the front lines. However, the rear positions were much more deadly than the perimeter trenches. It had seemed to Wolf that the renegades were fighting harder where the grenadiers were present, and he knew that they were hoping to blunt the offensive and fight on an equal footing. Just as that thought passed, Wolf put down another renegade who was scrambling to cover ten yards ahead.

The battle was becoming much more pitched now as the Grenadier Company was becoming much more thinned out from grueling combat. The Second and Tenth Guard Companies were now fighting alongside with the grenadiers, thousands of midnight-blue soldiers committed to combat. The renegades were a tough group, but Wolf had seen much tougher enemies during his service.

The grenadiers have punched holes on the fortified positions, but many fell from the traitor's cross fire as they made their way through the trenches and earthworks. Mannstein was busier than ever, burning traitors with his flamer and destroying small bunker complexes. The holy fire of promethium burned the mutant mind, body, and soul as the burning renegades cowered in pain. Not far from Fifth Squad, a two-man heavy flamer team unrelenting advanced with the hose, burning everything in their path. Most of the men had already left he trenches were on ground level; their target was the last of the enemy fortifications.

Sounds of the shells streaked from both sides, vapor trails leaving crosses in the slowly dwindling sky. At least the rain stopped. Wolf felt his feet shake under the close proximity of the enemy shells and the Korps. The Korps always worked with short round fire missions and many times there were occurrences of friendly fire. A barrage mortar shells exploded ten yards in front. Wolf and the rest of his squad kept going, their forms emerging from the dust and smoke.

However, Wolf's squad was a victim of friendly fire. One man from Fifth Squad was terribly wounded: Private Laethan. Nietxn. Laethan's carpace cuirass was severely pockmarked by the shrapnel and both of his arms were heavily sheared. He squirmed in pain and every time he tried to move, the cries got louder. Blood seeped out at an alarming rate, but any attempt to exercise battlefield first-aid was useless.

Wolf knew in the back of his mind that they would not see the next battle. He was at the hands of the Quartermaster. The squad pressed on, leaving the wounded behind to tend themselves. The Fifth squad and the others pressed on with their brisk advancement, only to stay in cover for a brief moment before moving out again. The grenadiers were making slow progress, and the two other companies that were supposed to support their flanks were not heard from. The Fifth squad took cover behind a destroyed Heavy Bolter emplacement that had enemy dead. Wolf risked a glance from his temporary protection and observed the enemy positions. From his hearing, Wolf knew there were no sounds of battle coming from the flanks.

"Strange," thought Wolf. He then turned to Helken.

"Lance-Corporal Helken, have heard of anything from the lieutenant about the flanking companies' movement?"

Helken took cover just as autogun slugs zipped past, which indicated he narrowly avoided death. He took time to listen through the vox-waves coming from his caster. After a couple of seconds, Helken shook his head.

"No, sir. It seems the enemy is currently trying to jam our communications. All I hear is garble and static."

Wolf pondered for a moment.

"All right, let us go. Regardless if the companies do not meet us, we will still die a worthy death."

He and his squad continued on, leap-frogging from cover to cover. Wolf threw the last of his frag grenades as he continued to rush forward to the enemy fortifications. The enemy's position was now very clear to the incoming grenadiers. It was much more reinforced and defended than the first defensive line. Renegades were pouring small arms fire, picking out grenadiers across No Man's Land. Short-range mortars and howitzers blew holes all over, shrapnel eviscerating many at a time. The razor wire, sandbags, and also plates of plasteel formed formidable shields for the enemy, absorbing Krieg fire and then unleashing their own.

Wolf heard a ping-like noise behind him and turned around from cover. Private Iago was on the ground, lifeless. A metal hole was imbedded in his helmet. Wolf knew Iago died before he hit the ground. Bernik was about to tend to Iago, but Wolf stopped him with his voice of indifference.

"He's dead, Corporal."

Bernik stopped briefly and then returned to his position

"Yes, sir."

Wolf swerved around to focus on the situation. He and the remainder of Fifth squad were hunkered down in one of the many crater holes in front of the renegade trenches. They were only fifty yards away from the first trench line and more grenadiers were shuffling their way to the enemy positions, fired their weapons and closed in to engage the enemy up close. He recognized the emblems of the Second and Third Platoons and they were taking a hard pounding from the enemy. The bodies covered every square inch of no man's land; the blood ran thick in the dead earth. The smell of battle was intoxicating, and Wolf could feel the adrenaline's effect inside. Once it kicked, Wolf's decisions were instantly processed and carried out from his racing brain.

Wolf turned to Fejhka to give a new set of orders.

"Corporal Fejhka, take two men and clear the trench section! We will be right behind you!"

"Aye, sir!" Fejhka motioned to Mannstein and Sellvage to follow him, but before he went Wolf gave the order to wait.

Wolf turned to rest of his squad and gave the order to hand any frag grenades they rest could spare for the three men. Once the team had the extra explosives, they clambered out of the crater and ran into the enemy's direction. The Watchmaster waited for several seconds, before he motioned the rest of the squad to follow him.

As it turned out, the Fifth squad was one of the leading elements of the 1st company to make headway to the enemy's position. Watchmaster Wolf fired as he briskly covered ground behind the three-man assault team. He also made sure his squad behind him were at an even keel from the assault team, so when the assault team completed their task, the squad would be right behind them to mop up any resistance. Wolf fired his hellgun, but midway through his barrage the las pack was exhausted. He was aware from the amount of discharges he spent his hellgun was going to go out. To leave his personal weapon behind would be an insult to the Korps, so he had to make do with the heavy weapon. He nevertheless continued to carry the hot barrel with his right hand, and pulled out his las pistol from its holster.

Fejhka, Mannstein, and Sellvage were within grenade distance from the trench. All around them, the Death Korps had the momentum now, with Grenadier units mingled with the regular infantry. Although there was not heavy siege ordnance, yet, at their disposal, the advance guard still made do with their smaller mortars, dropping HE, Infernus, and Smoke rounds to support the ground assault. Deadly accurate fire rained on the traitors, with much help from the grim and calculating crew who practiced incessantly on their sight elevation to fire accurately at an indirect observation. Even without the heavy siege guns the Death Korps were infamously known for, the vanguard had a response against the traitors.

Fejhka and the assault team, seemingly unharmed, took cover at one of last crater holes before the trenches. The rest of Fifth Squad settled in one of the few crater holes behind the assault team. Fejhka, Mannstein, and Sellvage laid out all of their frag grenades, the fire increased by the close proximity to the enemy. Fejhka turned his head around to his watchmaster. Wolf nodded, acknowledging Fejhka's permission to engage at close quarters. The assault team pulled the pins and cooked their grenades for two seconds. As soon as the first batch went away, the team had already pulled the pins of their second.

Wolf, at the same time, signaled Zohlle to fire a few HE rounds in syncopation with the assault team. The effect was immediate, screams of the dying intensified as the grenades sliced through them like a hot knife. Immediately, the assault team went headlong at the dazed enemy, with Mannstein relished the chance to smite the dying with holy promethium. As soon as the Fejhka's team left for the trenches, Wolf motioned his arm forward. It appeared the massive explosion had spurred the rest of Korps and the human wave again threw themselves into the enemy trenches.

The furious melee began. Once Fejhka's team entered the trenches, immediately Mannstein unleashed the Emperor's holy fire on the wounded and dazed renegades. The fumes engulfing the trench section as Mannstein's eyes glowed from the fire. Fejhka unleashed the deadliest barrage of las discharges into a group of recovering soldiers to his left; the high-powered beams cutting right through their meek armor. The untested Sellvage threw himself to the nearest enemy soldier, clubbing like a madman with his piping-hot hellgun. The soldier's face was unrecognizable through Sellvage's beatings and the private grew hungry for more dead traitors. At once, Wolf jumped into the carnage of the battle; the rest of the squad and countless others Death Korps swarmed into the trenches as far as the eye could see. It was a brutal affair; even the most tested Guard regiments would be a tad shock of the Korps handiwork.

The unflinching men worked their way in the next line of trenches and the underground tunnels where the traitors had built to protect themselves from the Imperial's artillery. The yells of the fighting and dying emanated the trench line. The Death Korps were easily overpowering their enemy by numbers and used that advantage to great effect. Wolf bludgeoned a traitor with his fist when a traitor, who was wounded in the chest but still in fighting condition, knocked him down. He landed amongst the numerous bodies on the g round, but recovered quickly to meet another punch to the face. The metal of his mask smashed into his face, the pain made Wolf seethe and grunt. Seeing stars, Wolf threw a blind punch and it connected to the traitors face. The traitor yelped at the pain and Wolf withdrew his sword-bayonet from his waist and stuck it in the enemy's stomach. The dazed enemy tried to ward off his attacker, but Wolf withdrew his blade and repeated the action again.

It was a training ground exercise, but it did its job well. Wolf stopped his actions and observed the grim surroundings. The carnage of battle lessened a bit, and Wolf's ragged breath seemed the completely pass through his ears. He noticed the trenches were more developed than the perimeter trenches. The lines were taller than the tallest grenadiers and the width, no doubt, doubled in size. It also meant more bodies could be filled when there was close-quarters combat.

Then Wolf remembered something that went completely through his adrenaline-filled brain.

"Helken!" yelled Wolf.

"Aye sir," came the reply. Helken had just finished killing off a traitor when he heard the call. The Grenadier Company was mopping up any resistance or life in the corpse-filled earthworks. The vox-caster strode forward to meet his watchmaster and saluted briskly.

"Contact the lieutenant on the broad frequency, report that the trench line is now Korps-held and moving towards the objective now."

Helken nodded and tuned in the frequency to contact the platoon commander. After a brief moment and a few counter-calls, Helken continued to convey the situational report to Spaeyer. Helken then spoke again.

"Sir, the lieutenant reports the Second and Tenth Guardsmen are pushing their way towards the objective. There have been heavy pockets of resistance, but they are pressing! The First Platoon is standing to, sir! He also grants you the Emperor's peace should you go down in style."

The stoic watchmaster smirked under his mask at the suggestion by his commanding officer. Helken continued the report.

"The lieutenant would like to speak to you on a private channel, sir".

"Acknowledged. Return to the squad Lance-Corporal."

Helken saluted and returned to squad, who were taking a moment's breath. Wolf holstered his las pistol and blade to answer the lieutenant's call. As part of his promotion to watchmaster, Wolf was granted more specialized equipment. Although it was in the mind of every Korps member to downplay promotions and rewards, it was not in the case for a Guardsman to be raised to Veteran Watchmaster status.

One of the items he was given was a small personal vox-caster, although not as powerful as the one Helken carried, it still suited its purpose for a squad leader. Wolf dug his hand into his canvas bag to pull out the vox-caster. It was a small, rectangular machine, which could be attached to Wolf's helmet on either side. From either side, the transmissions can be heard well enough to prosecute orders. Wolf dialed private frequency and secured the machine on the left side of his helmet. Once it was in place, a low buzz rang in and then silence.

"Veteran Watchmaster," came the gravelly voice of Lieutenant Spaeyer, in sync with the automated-tone audio of the vox-machine.

"Lieutenant Spaeyer, the Fifth Squad awaits for the Emperor's Absolution, sir."

"No doubt, Watchmaster," replied Spaeyer, "rendezvous with me at the second trench line. I will send a man for you."

"Aye, sir, at your command."

Wolf turned off the machine and turned to his squad.

"Make ready for combat. Await here until I return."

"Aye, sir," toned altogether the men.

Wolf trudged through the corpses and the rest of the Grenadier Company, who were all resting and licking their wounds for the next engagement. Some of the grenadiers were distributing more ammunition from the crates they carried; He walked through a channel that connected the first and second lines. The men acknowledged his presence with short nods and tipping their helmets. A worn-out grenadier approached him and saluted him.

"Sir." He then gestured his gun to follow him. Wolf followed him and soon he saw the lieutenant. He was not alone; the lieutenant was with ten other men. Wolf recognized them as the rest of the platoon's watchmasters. All of them were standing, dour and solemn. The lieutenant was with his vox-operator, who was talking in his set. Something is up thought Wolf, but he cannot seem to think of any idea in contrast to the norm.

Wolf saluted and Spaeyer acknowledged it.

"Watchmaster Klaus."

"Sir."

Spaeyer gestured, "As you were."

Wolf relaxed his stance and waited what the lieutenant had to say.

"Watchmasters of the First Platoon, a fine engagement. As we take a breather, we must asset the situation. The Grenadier Company has successfully established a foothold in this area, but the traitors certainly have more in store for us."

"Aye, sir" intoned the men.

"We have yet to discovery why and what the traitors are doing here. I feel we are very close to the objective and even as we sit and talk, the Second and Tenth Guards are engaging the pushing the enemy back towards the center."

Spaeyer paused before he continued.

"It is most likely the enemy wished to hamper our progress, by becoming more accustomed to fight at a distance, however they would change as we must now focus our attack stance to close engagement. This is the platoon's order: engage the enemy up-close. The Captain has contacted each platoon commander just as we had gained control of the trenches."

Spaeyer gestured the watchmasters to follow him out of the trench. Once they were out of the trench and onto level ground, the group went on their bellies and crawled over to the nearest source of cover. Spaeyer pointed out in the distance to a relatively large building about 500 yards away. It was firing away towards the east and west where the Second and Tenth Companies were engaging.

"That over there is Objective I. According to naval intelligence, it was the former continental headquarters of the former garrison. Heavily armed, armored, and designed in a fashion of a pentagon, but there is not much of enfilading fire. The heavy artillery would soften it up. I have received word that a few independent artillery companies have made landfall and are currently en route, along with elements of the Twenty-First Assault Korps. Have your communications open to coordinate the ordnance and armor, if necessary. Also, we have reinforcements on the way, five Guard companies en route to our position and a few elements from other unidentified Imperial Guard."

Wolf crunched the numbers in his head, the numerical advantage would be very much in the Krieg's favor, but the advantage could be lost during the assault against a heavily fortified complex.

Wolf raised his hand.

"Aye, Watchmaster Klaus?"

"Sir, what kind of ordnance would we be facing? From the size of fortress, it could be the biggest we have seen so far."

Spaeyer was silent for a few moments and then replied.

"Whatever the previous garrison had left behind. It could be an Earthshaker. I am afraid I do not have a concrete answer to that."

Spaeyer continued, "The artillery will bombard the position briefly, as it is command's wish to spare, if possible, most of the fortress. At the same time, pick a team of men to the fortress and then have the rest follow in on the centaurs. Keep squad-wide comms open. The engineers will be coordinating with us so each squad will have a couple of them. They are under your command."

A man raised his hand. It was the watchmaster of Seventh Squad.

"Aye, Watchmaster Gdanis?"

"Sir, regarding the other Imperial Guard units, how are they faring?"

Spaeyer was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. Wolf was internally interested to gear about the other Imperial Guard's offensives.

"It is tough battle for these other regiments, because their style is not really up to the standard where they can tolerate abnormally-high casualties. The enemy is rooted deep down in these parts, no doubt. Regardless, they are making progress as we speak."

"Aye, sir, may they seek the Emperor's peace as soon as they can."

"Just as we wish to atone for our sins, mind you Watchmaster," replied Spaeyer, whose serious tone did not betray his own emotions. "Watchmasters, all we know the fort is the last piece to this offensive. From intelligence, there is a fairly large town within the fort. We will continue with he ground assault, but mind you anything related to the attack is expendable. Skirmish parties have the license to fully engage the enemy. The general rules of engagement stay the same: no quarter and die well."

"Aye, sir," intoned the men. Wolf was already thinking of assigning his squad different tasks.

"The bombardment will commence in twenty minutes," came the last command, "dismissed and may you seek the Emperor's Absolution."

The men saluted and returned to their units. The yells stirring the men back to reality from their break. The Fifth Squad was already on their feet, ready to continue the ground assault. Fejhka approached to Wolf, his tone ready for more action.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

"Gather the squad and prepare to attack. Skirmish pattern."

As he spoke, Wolf checked the hellgun's systems. It was nearly at full capacity in ammunition, thanks to the power of the rechargeable las. Still, he would have preferred with the lasgun.

Woehberg hefted the Meltagun as he spoke.

"Sir, is our objective up ahead?"

"Aye and it is a big one. How are we on grenades?"

"I am out"

"Only a Krak to spare."

They were midway through the report when a group of grenadiers brought in crates of ammunition. The grenadiers pounced at the opportunity, carried more grenades in their pockets. This time melta bombs were also distributed as well, an explosive suited for the next assault. In the distance, a certain rumbling grew and as Wolf turned around behind their position, the centaurs were back to take the grenadiers into the fire. Three engineers, who looked just like the grenadiers, approached Wolf. They did not wear the iconic greatcoat, which they, instead, wore a short tunic jacket, kneepads, and more specialized equipment for sub-terrain warfare. Two carried auto-shotguns, but the last carried a Mole Launcher, a special kind of missile launcher suited for breaching walls and rock. These were the soldiers who have greatly contributed to the success of the Death Korps reputation in Siege Warfare, particularly with their deep knowledge of subterranean warfare.

The engineers in the middle saluted to Wolf and Wolf returned the gestured.

"Sir, Watchmaster Aden of the Twenty-Second Engineer Squad reporting to the Veteran Watchmaster Wolfram Klaus."

"Well met, Watchmaster," said Wolf as he stuck out a hand. The engineer was uneasy at first at the gesture, but he readily accepted shook it. The engineers were probably not the most social group of the Death Korps, but then again who wasn't? They carried their duty for the Emperor and have died for the Imperium, just like any Death Korps. His own voice cut his thoughts.

"Fifth Squad! On me!"

The men hustled their way back to Wolf's position and mingled with the Engineers, who shook hands and exchanged brief words with their compatriots. Wolf knelt on one knee and everyone complied with it.

"Our orders are to take the fortress head-on, but we are to divide up. The lieutenant wants skirmish parties ahead of the main assault, the objective to probe the enemy lines and find a point of entry. Mannstein, Zohlle, Sellvage, Woehberg, and Helken will accompany me with the engineers. The rest of you will stay and join the main assault."

He turned to Engineer Aden. "Do you think it is possible to find an enemy underground network, just like the ones here?"

"Aye sir, it is possible. My men had uncovered pockets of tunnels in this trench line alone, but when the artillery came, all access was blocked. We do not have the equipment or time to re-access those tunnels."

"Understood," said Wolf, his mind racing, " That is why we are acting as skirmishers, to see if we can find an entry of sort."

"Not the typical night raid is it, sir?" inquired Fejhka. A few grim and dry chuckles were heard from men, even the engineers joined in.

"No, Corporal, but I can already predict who would be on the very first night raid as soon as this is over."

The chuckles grew a little louder, but the grim undertone still layered the laugh.

"All right, let us cut the bloody banter out. On your feet Fifth Squad!" announced Wolf. All the men stood up in unison, checked their weapons, and stood ready for the next combat mission.

"The men assigned to me, follow me. Everybody else, head to the Centaurs. If I do not see you at the end of the engagement, I will be waiting for you."

* * *

The rain again continued, but it was only a drizzle. The clouds were still there, covering any sign of sunlight. The only sounds heard were the distant booms and explosions of the east and west of the fortress. The other source of sound was the quick scampering of feet of Wolf's party and numerous skirmish parties working in unison. They worked in baby steps, their greatcoats giving them a degree of camouflage in the quagmire.

In a spread pattern, the men had their sights trained from left to right and left again, prepared to cover each other should one party come under fire. The engineers had their auspexes out to detect any geo-thermal signs of life underground, but there has been no sign of any sort of underground system yet. Wolf occasionally checked the platoon's comms on any updates: all squads reported nothing of interest. They were will within range of any small-artillery that fort may hold, but the fort remained silent on the plateau. Fifth squad continued their way forward, the yards counted down from 500,400, and to 350.

An engineer stopped ahead of his tracks at what looked like a deserted gun pit that emerged from the ground, his auspexes' readings beeping like mad.

"Watchmasters!" announced the engineer, who motioned the engineer-in-charge and Wolf to where he was. The rest held their position and scanned their surroundings. The two men raced over to the engineer and knelt beside him.

"The readings reveal there is something down there. Request permission to check out?"

"Granted," replied Aden.

The engineer took out his entrenching tool and jumped inside the gun pit. He dug around in search of an entry way and then stopped in his tracks. The engineer took a closer look inside the tunnel and turned away. He then stepped back from his digging and looked up to Wolf and Aden.

"I think you should see this, it is quite something."

Wolf and Aden jumped into the gun pit and the engineer turned his helmet's illuminator on. Aden peered in closer and stuck his head into the tunnel.

"What do you see?" asked Wolf, running his finger along the hellgun's trigger.

"Dead civilians," came the grim voice from the hole, " all mangled up to the bone."

Aden withdrew his head from the tunnel and handed Wolf the illuminator. He then took a look for himself, knowingly he was prepared to face the horror. In the burrow, Wolf saw nothing what he had seen before. Human cadavers ranging from males to children filled the burrow. But they were dismembered to the point where the bone and tissue were piercingly visible. Some of the faces were cleanly picked off and their skulls visible. They were flayed to the point the muscles were still reflective through Wolf's borrowed illuminator. The agony expressed on their faces was piercing, and even Wolf's stoic expression had a slight hint of disgust. He could tell they were here for at least a few days to a week; the decomposition was not in effect.

Just as Wolf was about to withdraw his head, an explosion was heard to the west. He jerked his head and saw vapors rise in the air, where several of the skirmish parties were conducting operations. The comms were live with talk now.

"Skirmish party of the Tenth Squad reporting! A gun pit here was booby-trapped! Two dead, two wounded. Continuing on towards the objective."

"Skirmish party of the Sixth Squad reporting! Anyone discovered dead human inhabitants in these pits?"

Wolf responded on his personal vox while he observed the fortress at the distance. It would be soon before the fortress would rain hell.

"Skirmish party of the Fifth Squad, we acknowledge that last message! Pressing forward!"

Wolf turned to Aden, who was using his sword bayonet to probe the ground for mines. After a few moments, Aden sheathed his bayonet: no booby-traps in this pit.

"Do you how long until the barrage?"

"It must be soon, probably…"

Midway through Aden's sentence, a loud and dying shriek pierced the air. All of a sudden a massive explosion took a chunk off the bunker. Followed by a series of scream whistles of mortars, the fortress was now being bombarded to hell.

"There is your answer!" yelled Aden above the sound of hellish fire.

"Indeed," confirmed Wolf, " we must no delay because it will be a short barrage!"

Wolf climbed out of pit and ran as fast as he could towards the damaged fort. The earth rumbled under their feet as heavier shell made their mark on the fortress.

"Onward Fifth Squad! Press on!"

Every party now ran to the objective as fast as they humanely could. The power of the explosions vibrated and swept across the parties, some were thrown off their feet. The Korps were notoriously well known to have infantry assaults very close to the artillery barrage, because there was a logical explanation for it. If the transition between a ground assault and artillery barrage lasted a little too long, the enemy would recover and counter-attack. However if the transition was brief while the enemy was still in shock, the infantry had the pleasure to mop up whatever the artillery missed.

The intense barrage lasted only for a five minutes, which during that time the skirmish parties were already at the plateau and progressed their way to the burning fort. The engineers were already at work, priming more melta and demolition charges on the fractured walls of the fort. Wolf and his squad kept their distance while the attaché engineers primed their explosives. They turned around and withdrew to a safe distance.

Aden handed Wolf both of the detonators, much to Wolf's surprise.

"Sir, as you are the senior member of this squad, I give you the honor to commence detonation."

Wolf shook his head.

"No Watchmaster, you are the senior contingent of the engineers. The honor befalls to you for your work and effort."

The engineer was silent for a moment and then nodded his head.

"Thank you, sir. The pleasure is mine."

Aden's voice shook through the squad comms.

"Fifth party ready to breach!"

"Sixth ready!"

"Tenth ready!"

As the last of the teams confirmed their status, Wolf gave the order.

"Do it."

A succession of bangs and explosions brought chunks of the huge ferrocrete wall down. Numerous holes were punched through and the Korps wasted no time to enter the fortress. Just as the walls were being breached, the remnants of the Grenadiers plowed their way to the plateau. Wolf was the first in the breach and scanned the setting. It was certainly a kind of fortress that could house a small settlement inside, and its was not terribly damaged as Wolf had initially thought. From where he was standing on in the plaza, there was no sign of any ordnance.

"Strange", thought Wolf. Was the fort abandoned just before we attacked? Impossible, surmised the slightly confused soldier, because the Navy would have informed us.

He turned to engineer Aden.

"Watchmaster, see you if can scan the ground for anything. Report to me as soon as you have found something."

"Aye sir."

Wolf turned on his vox to contact Helken and ordered him and rest of Fifth Squad to meet him at the center of the plaza. The Grenadier platoons began ascend to the ramparts. Still on guard, Wolf strode to the center of the cobblestone roads. It seemed ancient this fortress, there was something in the air that revealed a speculative long history. Entering the main plaza, Wolf saw a fountain, surprisingly in good condition. On top of the fountain was a sculpture. The sculpture depicted a hooded figure with wings with a sword in its left hand, as she lay what looked like a dead or dying soldier on the ground. He went up closer to the piece of art and squinted his eyes to make out the detail of the fountain. The figure's face was undoubtedly a woman. Was it a saint of the Imperial Cult? Wolf did not really care much about that, but there was something very provocative about the fountain that he could not really come up with words for it.

Wolf turned around and saw the rest of Fifth Squad assembled around him. They all appeared ready to continue on, but Wolf could tell they were a bit worn out, even he was too. Fejhka strode forward and briefly saluted. Wolf returned the gesture and about to say something when Aden approached with his auspex in his hand.

"Yes, Engineer?"

"Watchmaster, according to my readings there is nothing under the plaza. However, the engineers will begin conducting searches under the fortress. I will send my report as soon as possible."

"Understood Watchmaster, well done."

Aden saluted and turned around to join the rest of engineers who were assembling by the west breaches. Wolf's vox comms crackled with the lieutenant's voice.

"All platoon commanders report to the central plaza."

Wolf acknowledged the order with an assent. He turned then turned to the rest of his squad and gave them a few moments to rest. As the squad dispersed, Wolf took time to review the statue again, circling around to inspect every detail and its aesthetic. Slowly, the platoon commanders approached the fountain just as Wolf was about to leave. Another officer joined the group, but this officer was Captain Junker, the commanding officer of the Grenadier Company.

Junker was one officer who announced the Death Korp's re-organization back on the transport. A brilliant, but moody commander, Junker has been reputed as one of the most effective company commanders in the First Line Korps, having worked his way up just like all of the Death Korps. Junker was truly the soldier's leader, because he did everything with his soldiers. He slept on the ground with them, visited them on the front lines every day, which not many Guard officers would do if they had come from a more privileged background. If Junker was here, then something was up. They saluted in the captain's presence, who wore the attire of a normal grenadier. The men saluted and Junker acknowledged it with the stiff nod and stood next to Spaeyer.

Wolf trudged his way to one of the upper levels of the fortress, climbing the stairs that led to a deserted hallway. All of a sudden, he heard a noise coming from one of the rooms. A few grenadiers heard it to and Wolf gestured them to follow him. He moved towards the source of the sound, his hellgun ready to cut down the enemy. He approached a wooden door and smashed it down easily with his boot. The other grenadiers fanned out into the spartan, but upturned room, with furniture being tossed all over the place. Certainly there was struggle here and Wolf slowly made his way away the chamber, hoping to find an answer. He got his answer when he heard a slight muffle behind another wooden door. The grenadiers behind him followed him and had their weapons at the ready. Wolf pulled a grenade out of his pocket and prepared to open the door. His hand on the knob turned and just when he was about to throw it, he heard the cry, "stop!"

Wolf was momentarily dazed by the human yell and the Grenadiers aimed their weapons at the door. The watchmaster recovered and pulled the door wide to reveal who or what was behind it. They were human, huddled together, and fear evident in their eyes. Wolf made an assessment: they were most likely survivors from the massacres and inhabitants of this garrison. They were four old men and twelve women with children. One of the women had an auto-shotgun in her hand, but the weapon was heavy as she struggled to aim it properly. The woman was tattered in appearance, but her tanned face was striking. A strong, square jaw defined her personality before Wolf even made the introductions. Her dark-brown hair was tattered, but her eyes made Wolf hesitant to face her. Her flinty-brown eyes pierced the watchmaster, who was momentarily still, unsure how to approach civilians.

As strange as it was, Wolf had no experience with working with civilians. Being the Death Korps made Wolf and millions of his compatriots to be just soldiers, nothing else. Many had no families and Wolf himself cannot remember if he had one or not. Females were not really considered one of the mainstays of Krieg, except for breeding soldiers. Wolf never really encountered many females during his service. However, this was not the time to dally when there is a pistol pointed at you. Wolf decided to break the deadlock, so he would be the first to say something. His voice was dead and lifeless in the room.

"Civilians of Paradiso, you are liberated by the Death Korps of Krieg, by the Emperor's grace. Join us so we can escort you to safety."

Silence. Some of people whimpered, but the woman with the gun remained strong. Wolf decided to do something about the gun aimed at him. He went on one knee, put his weapon down, and leaned closer to the group. Wolf was desensitized of the thought of drying, much thanks to the training on Krieg.

"Citizen, give the weapon to me," said Wolf with his hand outstretched. But what came after was a blur. Wolf's gesture seemed so sudden that the women's shotgun discharged. The sound of the weapon emanated throughout the room, and the grenadiers were about to cut down the civilians with a blink of an eye. The slug rounds bounced off Wolf's cuirass, but Wolf recovered enough to yell the grenadiers to stand down. They did, with great reluctance.

The woman, this time, looked shocked and scared. She was evidently trying to hold back the tears as the vapors filled the space between the refugees and the grenadiers. Wolf briefly looked down at his cuirass and saw that the plate was grazed. It was close, but not enough to kill him. Wolf decided to decide to try again and this time he did something he would have never thought of doing. Wolf turned off the respirator and proceeded to take off his mask and helmet. If there was only a way to convince a civilian to follow you, you have to show who you really are. The grenadiers behind Wolf were not curious by his actions, a matter of indifference to his action. Once he removed the mask and revealed his naked face, the women looked as if she was going to faint from the sight. There were a few moments of silence before Wolf tried again.

"Please citizen, give me the gun," Wolf said in a softer tone. The woman hesitated as the weight of the shotgun slowly overbearing her strength. Wolf gently took the shotgun from her and gave it one of the grenadiers, who then proceeded to field-strip it. At the time, a few more grenadiers entered the room in search of the sound, but the other grenadiers with Wolf gestured them to leave. Wolf gently took her hands within his own and lifted her up to her feet. The other grenadiers did the same with the others and slowly brought them out to the hallway.

The Fifth Squad noticed their watchmaster took off his mask and dashed towards him in concern. Wolf's only response was to escort the civilians and hold them in the central plaza. They did so and the woman who held the shotgun looked back towards Wolf, tears coming down her eyes. Wolf watched in silence and then proceeded to put his mask and helmet back on. Darkness was approaching and soon the grenadiers would have to dig foxholes for the night.

Wolf walked down the stairs to return to his squad. The activity within the compound continued on as if nothing had happened. More men and supplies were being brought into the fortress, and the sounds of the tanks rumbled as they parked inside.

The questions hammered in his mind about his conduct, but Wolf was solely convinced he had made the right decision to reveal himself to the civilians. It would have been much harder to convince them otherwise. Still, Wolf pondered that the gesture had helped him convince the civilians, but did it not have a same effect on him, mentally? Was he going soft?

"No," Wolf told to himself as strode towards the central plaza where the Fifth Squad held the civilians. He sounded convinced, but was he deceiving himself?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Unanswered Question.

**This chapter is devoted to Lessenia and the Eldar. I also have the beginning of a new story titled Forgewalker on . Please enjoy this bit on Lessenia. **

**-warmaster23 **

They stood no match. The foul and tainted humans simply fell before their graceful killers who gave no quarter. The refinement of the Banshees' attack in conjunction with the blunt Scorpions caused much panic of the weak humans. The Rangers played their role as the observers and assisting their allies with accurate sniper fire. The Tainted simply had no idea they were coming and were still determining how many of the enemy were on the field. The Chaos Marines bellowed commands and killed their own minions to re-group and counter the Eldar, and the humans slowly confronted them.

The Executioner worked like a brush, swishing and turning as Lessenia controlled it with unbelievable control. Great swathes of the enemy were cut open by the weapon, which forced them to engage at a safe distance. Lessenia lunged the Executioner far into a human that it also impaled two other men who were foolishly too close behind their dead comrade. The Banshees coordinated with each other despite their distance; either ambush small bands or a head-on attack. Lessenia shot another human with her pistol, who was about to launch a sneak attack on an unsuspecting Banshee currently engaged. As she turned to face her left, a human was about to pull the trigger of his crude pistol at her. Lessenia got to him first, squeezing a few shots from her pistol at his chest, effectively putting the human down for good.

In the back of her mind, she knew it would be only a matter of time before the Chaos force discovered the diminished Eldar force. The shock of the surprise attack was ebbing away. The Banshee moved near to a destroyed hab-block and killed two soldiers with a swipe of her blade. A party of five emerged to her left and raised their short swords in engagement. Lessenia sheathed her glaive, because the distance to use it was too close. She unsheathed a short gladius from her thigh and struck first. With acrobatic movement, Lessenia stabbed the lead soldier in the abdomen and then quickly withdrew to counter an enemy sword strike. She parried and then hooked her right fist to the left side of his face. The soldier crumbled and Lessenia shot two with her pistol. She then procured a stiletto from her waist belt and threw it at the last soldier. The blade stuck to his throat, tainted blood seeping out. As the man fell on his back and gurgled, Lessenia strode over and took the blade out. The Banshee then sheathed both the gladius and stiletto. She quickly turned around and scanned the area behind.

The sound of metal teeth made Lessenia jump within her armor. She knew that sound as she holstered her pistol. It was a Chaos marine behind her. She quickly hid in the hab-block and waited for their opponent to arrive. The sounds of crunching earth became louder and louder. He was here. Lessenia peeked out in the window and saw the hulking form of the marine. He was so close that the Banshee heard the teeth of his chainsword whirring on low power. The stench of the Warp stank and Lessenia could feel the dark power circulating around her mind.

The giant spoke, the words mixed of pure savageness and the metallic grittiness of his helmet.

"I know you are here, Eldar whore! Show yourself and embrace the power of the Dark Gods!" The giant had his back to her through the window and Lessenia waited in the dark.

"He is too close," thought the Banshee, "I need to create space between me and the Chaos-cur."

By chance, the Chaos marine walked away from the window. The Banshee peered out the window and saw her opponent. The opponent was at least 2.2 meters tall, a giant. His black armor was distorted and twisted from its exposure to the Warp. From the moonlight, she saw yellow markings of the Chaos undivided and an eye. The eye of Horus. It was the Black Legion. The Despoiler's Own. His helmet still bore what the marine once was, but his helmet was ancient and had a blood-red plume. The eyes revealed ten thousand years of indescribable horrors and destruction as he scanned his surroundings, aware his enemy is watching.

Lessenia pulled her glaive and quickly left the hab-block. She stalked five yards behind him and then active her pyschosonics. The ear-piercing sound sliced the air and the traitor momentarily staggered at the sound.

This was her chance. Lessenia charged her glaive just as the marine quickly recovered and turned around. Seeing his enemy, the Chainsword roared to life. The traitor struck first, his impressive reach almost sliced Lessenia cuirass in half. Lessenia barely dodged the attack, but ducked in time. Enclosing the space between the two, the Banshee brought forth her glaive and prepared for a fast kill. The traitor reposed from his attack and brought his left arm in contact to her body. The Banshee felt the superhuman force against her breast, and she fell from the attack, her glaive lost.

Lessenia fell on the earth and recovered in time to avoid the traitor's boot aimed for her head. She unsheathed her stiletto and the gladius with both hands. The traitor roared and again launched a diagonal chop strike, but Lessenia was ready. She sidestepped to avoid the strike and plunged both the gladius and stiletto into his armor, aimed at his lower breastplate. The traitor grunted and roared in pain, and again launched a wild counter-attack. Lessenia dodged and took her glaive into her hands and stood at a distance.

She quickly processed some combat stats between her and the marine. In terms of strength and reach, the marine completed that category. In terms of agility, Lessenia was superior, but she did not discount the superhuman reflexes of the marine. The marine is no doubt strongly possessed by the Chaos powers. Her enemy gave her no more time to think as he charged head-on, the chainsword chattered. Wounded, but extremely capable of killing, the Chaos marine roared bloodthirstily and swung his chainsword across. He missed. Lessenia ducked just as he swung and shoved her glaive deep into his chest. The warrior buckled at the force and soon he was on his knees. She twisted the glaive deep into his chest cavity and the enemy groaned. He then fell on his back, shaking the ground all around.

The sound of the battle was present, but faint. The only sound Lessenia heard was the hoarse breathing of the Chaos marine. The glaive was still imbedded in him as Lessenia maintained her grip on the shaft. She looked at her opponent eye to eye. She could see nothing, but rage and bloodthirsty desire to rip Lessenia in two. The energy was fading. At last, the warrior spoke.

"This planet will be ours for the gods. While I will be re-interned to another body, you Eldar will be destroyed to dust. There are… more of us coming, witch. You will be nothing after this as the gods will consume your soul."

Lessenia heard enough.

She twisted the blade even more and withdrew. The Chaos warrior was no more. She observed the grim work of hers and quickly ran to the direction of the plaza. The sounds of battle were fainter now, which caused her to be worried. Did all of her Banshees perish, as well as the Scorpions? She slowed her pace as she turned her head left and right for the enemy.

Lessenia quickly sent a mental message to all Banshees to report to her location. She sent a general description where she was. They were a few hails, including Hil'da.

The Exarch was within ten yards from the plaza, where activity could be observed without much disturbance. She slid into a crater hole and spied on the enemy. The enemy was now condensed as more human parties emerged from multiple directions. More and more of the enemy were present, and the Exarch was silently surprised by the sudden rise of manpower. It was as if they were waiting for something.

"Where did they come from?" whispered Lessenia. The Warp Gate was on the verge of being in operation, but still not open enough to allow an influx of soldiers to the material world.

"Unless they were all called back from their posts on the outskirts…" thought the brooding Banshee.

"Lessenia!"

It was Uansi's voice in her head.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

"The eastern side of the Warp Gate."

"Found you".

Lessenia turned around at the statement and saw six figures of green-clad warriors trudge through the rubble-strewn earth. The Scorpion Exarch was covered in grime, dirt, and blood from the enemy. His warriors, too, looked very much like they had withdrawn from a fight. But Lessenia took note there were only five warriors plus the Exarch. Where were the other three warriors?

Uansi seemed to take hold of Lessenia's thought.

"The others could not be called upon."

His tone was slightly weary from the multiple engagements against the numerous odds. At the same time, he emanated great intensity.

Lessenia nodded.

"Where are your warriors?"

"They are coming, wherever they are."

A second later, four Banshees appeared from behind. They, too, joined in the crater hole.

"Neophyte Hil'da, I am happy to see you are well."

"I have been fortunate to stand before you again. I am most relieved to see you are well."

Pure concern enameled Hil'da's reply. Lessenia could deeply feel the connection and emotions Hil'da was experiencing.

"What happened to the others?"

Hil'da was silent on the matter for a few moments, until a quiet voice emerged.

"I do not know."

She nodded at the situation and briefly inquired the other Banshees about the battle. Once their replies satisfied, Lessenia turned to Uansi. He looked visibly tired and deflated and Lessenia could tell from his posture that he was sullen.

He looked up into the Banshee's eyes.

"It does not look good, Exarch Lessenia."

"The odds had been stacked against us from the beginning."

"I know."

"Have you heard any contact from Pathfinder Kjasanda?"

"Not yet. I have not heard a sniper shot for some time."

"Do you think..?"

"I doubt it, but he was positioned very far away from us."

Lessenia nodded at the possibility and turned her focus to the Chaos force ahead of them.

"Uansi, let us take a look."

"Aye, let us do so."

The Banshee and Scorpion told their warriors to follow them in a loose formation. They stealthily made their way to the edge of the ruined buildings where it opened to the central plaza. It certainly looked the Chaos forces have assembled a great host. Lessenia assumed the Chaos force assembling in front of them consisted at least a little over six hundred minions with twenty Black Legion Marines. Most of them were humans who were tainted by the Chaos powers.

Grisly trophies were erected where the earthworks were. Many were decomposed humans crucified on the eight-pointed star. They ranged from Ork to Space Marine, but Lessenia swore she saw the helmet of an Eldar Guardian from another craftworld. Many of the marines were positioned at the base of the Warp Gate, where they encircled what appeared to be the leader of the band. The Gate was currently suspended, but another Chaos marine appeared out of nowhere in a flash of blue fire. Once he appeared, twenty more appeared out of nowhere.

The newcomers were adorned in armor unlike the Black Legion, but they wore more archaic armor that lacked trophies from the dead. The colors were striped with Gold and Ultramarine Blue, and attire similar to the ancient Gyptians of Ancient Terra. The marines were vapors of blue leaking out of their armor and eyes. The central figure was a large marine adorned in archaic armor. His head scanned the area around him as he approached leader of the Black Legion band. His staff was horned and had the eye of Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways. Another player had entered the battle.

The air turned cold around the Eldar band. Lessenia, Uansi, and the others knew the feeling. It was the presence of a psyker. It was not just any Chaos sorcerer. The sorcerer in front of them was Ahriman, the wandering Chaos sorcerer. It was the foul Ahriman, the knowledge-seeker of the Ruinous Powers. The exiled charlatan, who intently preyed on the Eldar for his quest of higher knowledge for ten thousand years, stood in front them.

Lessenia gaped at the presence of the infamous figure before them. What contained in this world that interested Ahriman, the scourge of acquired knowledge?

Lessenia and Uansi looked at each other. Clearly, this was an unexpected change of events. One of the most powerful psyker in the galaxy had landed on Paradiso. Did this planet contain something of great, but terrible value for Ahriman? Just as well, does he already know about the Eldar before he made landfall?

"Does he know we are here?" asked Uansi, his voice concerned.

"Possibly," replied Lessenia.

"What should we do?"

For the first time in many years, Lessenia could not think of a viable strategy against Ahriman and the growing Chaos band.

Suddenly, a voice in Lessenia pierced her mind.

"We are here," came the voice of Vaclai of the Avengers.

The Vanguard had arrived.

The Chaos band turned their attention to the north. Ahriman and the Black Legion Champion turned their attention as well. The familiar sounds of the Reapers' launchers eviscerated three warriors on the edge of the earthworks. The tainted humans turned around as the Chaos marines bellowed commands. Some had already set up special and heavy weapons at the makeshift line of defenses. The Thousand Sons stayed back, no doubt acting as a reserve force.

Vaclai Jirak was the leading head of the Vanguard, leading and urging the warriors on. The Vanguard consisted of at least one thousand warriors, a sizable force for this endeavor. The Wraithguards led the advance, behind them the Dire Avengers, the Guardians, the Fire Dragons, and Reapers. The numerically –superior Chaos force prepared to engage the Eldar.

Lessenia turned to Uansi, who suggested they return with the Vanguard. The Banshee agreed and the group ran north to the Eldar force. They emerged from the dilapidated buildings and joined with the leading elements. Across the plaza, the Rangers shot from afar at the Chaos force, felling many. The Banshee and Scorpion gave orders to their group to join the battle. As the group departed, the exarches made their way to Vaclai.

Vaclai saw Lessenia and Uansi and headed towards them. The Dire Avenger clasped hands with the Lessenia and Uansi. Fire Dragon Tohvenen and Reaper Gorlan joined them. Brief greetings were exchanged.

** "**Fellow exarches, I feared Lessenia and I would be fed to the Chaos dogs!" said Uansi.

"Nonsense, Scorpion," came the volcanic and gruff voice of the Fire Dragon, whose presence sparked great intensity. He could obviously not dissect the humor underneath it.

"Calm, brother," said Vaclai, "he was jiving."

"I do not understand how one can make jokes at a time like this."

The Fire Dragon stepped forwards Uansi, the hulking exarch creating a shadow over the Scorpion.

Uansi was about to retort, but Lessenia joined the conversation as she took off her mask, revealing herself to her exarches.

"Brothers," came the voice of Lessenia. The Dragon and Scorpion looked at her. Gorlan folded his arms while Vaclai stepped up.

"Enough, you two," said Vaclai, "remember we have a battle to win. This attack cannot be won without our own leaders coming to blows!"

The Fire Dragon apologized and then turned to leave the group. He barked commands to his Fire Dragons and joined the battle without the Exarches. Lessenia gave Uansi the scolding look and Uansi accepted it with a sullen nod. Lessenia then turned to Vaclai.

"Vaclai, Uansi and I have found out more to why the servants of Ruinous Powers made landfall to Paradiso."

"What can you tell us?"

"From where we were, the Black Legion has made landfall, although there was only one small band of them. Then another band appeared out of nowhere, whose powers are liked to the Changer of Ways. The leader is a Chaos sorcerer."

Internally, Vaclai shuddered at Tzeentch's demonic title. If there could be one abomination that held the kind of power Tzeentch had, then this attack would be very costly. Who was this sorcerer, Lessenia was describing?

"Who is it?"

Lessenia and Uansi looked at each and Uansi had the honor of presenting the worst of the news.

"Ahriman the Exiled."

Vaclai was silent for a moment. He slowly paced back in forth at the news, evidently pondering about the infamous newcomer. Gorlan remained unmoved, but Lessenia sensed he, too, shared Vaclai's concern. Vaclai returned to his senses.

"So this planet contained more than we had initially thought. More secrets and discoveries waiting to be unearthed, but in the hands of Chaos-scum," said Vaclai, who was incensed of the Chaos sorcerer's unknown motives.

"Yes," replied Lessenia.

Uansi spoke with much seriousness this time, much more aware of the situation now.

"The Autarch and Farseer must be notified of his presence."

Before one of the Exarches said anything, the sounds of battle grew louder as the leading elements of the vanguard have made full contact with the enemy. A series of explosions followed that rattled both sides, the work of Fire Dragons. Gorlan turned around and left the group, evidently more interested in the battle. Vaclai again spoke.

"Lessenia and Uansi, now is the time. The Autarch would be pleased if she found out we idled as our warriors fought gallantly."

All nodded in agreement. Vaclai blessed their endeavors and safety and left for the front lines. Uansi was second to leave, giving Lessenia an assuring nod and led his warriors to the fray. Lessenia put her mask on and went to the heart of the action. The battle was in full flight by the time she slew the first enemy she encountered.

The Dire Avengers and Guardians were holding on their own as the influx of Chaos minions surged into their lines. The Avengers acted as the hammer and the Guardians worked as the anvil, creating a rhythm with efficiency. The Falcon Grav Tanks conducted coordinated hit and run attacks on the enemy center, eviscerating and destroying the numerous foes. The foe struck back with heavy weapons, and many of the tanks were damaged. The Fire Dragons burned out their enemy with fire and utter exhilaration of their enemy's destruction while Reapers maintained their distance. For the moment, the enemy buckled at the assault. Ground was lost, but the Eldar suffered many casualties from the savagery. The Banshee exarch felt her strength being ebbed away by the battle's intensity. The

Lessenia struck and cleaved her way forward, with her Banshees behind her. Uansi was right at her side, hacking away. The enemy's numbers continued to become a visible advantage. The humans threw themselves at the Eldar, the numbers crunching against the Eldar. The difficult part was the human minions were only body shields for their Chaos lords. With Ahriman within their ranks, this battle could very well be in the Chaos' favor.

"Fight! Fight for your lives! Fight for the Alaitoc!" yelled Vaclai as he brought down three human minions with his Diresword. The furious melee did not seem to slow for a brief second. Crumbled bodies littered the ground every square inch, the casualties on both sides increased. Lessenia never ceased, frequently using her pyschosonics to bring down her enemies in order to create fighting space for her warriors. The cries of the Banshees had made the hearts of her enemy quake and quiver, along with the brutal combination of fire and blade. Slowly, the lead Chaos elements withdrew back to the gate.

"They are retreating!" announced a Fire Dragon as he incinerated a group of soldiers with his Fusion Gun. The announcement rejuvenated the struggling Eldar. Yard-by-yard, the Eldar force advanced with vigor, because there was another they had to face: the Chaos Space Marines. The Reapers entrenched themselves in the earthworks as the rest of force proceeded to the Chaos gate. Lessenia then felt the air become thick. It was the air of a great and terrible power circulating. She knew what that meant.

"Psyker!" yelled Lessenia. "Harden your minds and hearts, warriors, for the Warp's energies have entered! She felt the Eldar around her prepared for the great engagement. The tainted humans have retreated behind the giant warriors emerging from the crowd, killing their minions with no regard for their lives. Two Black Legion bands confronted the Eldar and engaged in close combat. Their Chaos Champion led the way as the impact of Bolt and Chainsword intermingled with the Eldar.

It was a slaughter. Lessenia saw two Dire Avengers become nothing more than a messy pulp of flesh right in front of her eyes. A Guardian's head exploded in an instant from a bolt. The firepower of such terrifying weapons cleared many Eldar before the closed-combat began. The inexperienced Guardians slowly backed away from the engagement as the more seasoned warriors confronted their new arrivals. Lessenia raised her glaive for the chest of one Chaos warrior directly in front of her. The warrior raised his chainsword for the slaughter to commence.

His strike missed her, but it was certainly a close one. Lessenia dodged his furious strike while he continued to step over. Lessenia then handed Executioner with one hand as she withdrew a gladius. She first impaled the glaive right in his chest and used the force of the thrust to lead her gladius right into his throat. The Chaos warrior could not react quickly to those strikes. She withdrew and warrior fell backward, still trying to fight off his wounds with his superhuman physiology. Lessenia then plunged her gladius against to her chest, effectively putting the warrior out for good.

The Eldar's assault swayed of the Black Legion's attack. The giants crashed their way, making quick work with their blades and fists at tight spaces. The re-formed human minions mingled themselves with the Chaos, using their numbers against the Eldar. Lessenia knew all around the Eldar were beginning to buckle. Even the psychosonics were having little effect on the giants, who simply shrugged off the ear-piercing sounds. The essence of the Warp was nearly felt, for the Thousand Sons stank of it. But the Thousands Sons were not engaging. What were they waiting for?

The Reapers were much needed for this attack, but the combat was so close they could not effectively pick out their enemies from their positions. Lessenia again was beginning to feel the strain of combat, mentally and physically. The number of dead Eldar made it much harder to cope the battle. Vaclai and Uansi continued to encourage their warriors to fight, as the strength of the Eldar was weakening. Tohvenen bellowed with rage as he vaporized a warrior with his Fire Pike and smashed his weapon in a charging Black Legion warrior. Few of the giants went down as more Eldar perished under their attack. It was unbearable for Lessenia, as she looked all around her, the death of her kin.

She experienced a refreshed spurt of energy, raising her bloodied glaive at full length and charged. Hacking left, right, and stabbing, Lessenia's only concern was to cause as much damage to the enemy in haste. She then took out a plasma grenade and threw it right in front of her enemies. The blinding light caused much consternation among the humans, whose eyes were burned from the bright light. The giants themselves, staggered at the proximity of the light. The Eldar warriors behind Lessenia surged forwards, smashing themselves into the enemy. The power of Khaine was felt among each warrior, the renewed vigor poured through his or her veins.

Lessenia was in a battered state: her armor was chipped and scored and bruises encumbered her movement. Her glaive was still hungry for more blood. Then, a voice emerged out of nowhere in her mind. It was the voice of authority and experience.

"Vanguard, we have arrived."

With that being said, the familiar sounds of the Swooping Hawks and Shining Spears emerged from the south. The enemy turned to the new sound, and just as when they did so they perished under the fire. The Warp Spiders teleported out of nowhere and crashed home into the confused enemy. Quick work was made on the humans, whose black courage crumbled under the surprise attack. A Wraithlord emerged from the ruins and annihilated every enemy it encountered, either with its feet, fists, and the Wraithblade. The Chaos force was now in disarray. The Black Legion cursed at their enemy as they perished one-by-one. The remaining Warriors of the Vanguard recovered and charged forth into the enemy.

An Eldar disembarked from its jetbike and confronted the Chaos Champion, who had just killed a Guardian with his blade. It was the Autarch, her armor and wings carried the fire that she would smite her foe. The Autarch stood tall in her armor and carried a great Eldar sword, filled with the energies that would pierce the thickest armor. The hulking champion focused on the Autarch and the two engaged in combat.

That was all Lessenia had seen before she became involved with more of the fighting. Amidst the destruction of the Chaos band, Lessenia saw the champion's right forearm cleaved. The black blood spluttered out, the bone and muscle exposed. The Autarch continued her attack as the champion fought on with his power fist. The Autarch brought the end to the champion when she stabbed him right in the heart. The champion fell on his knees, cursing the Eldar for their inevitable extinction. Without a word, the great Yulanic beheaded him.

Lessenia had killed her last foe when the enormous pulse of the Warp was felt throughout the plaza. It was Ahriman's place in the battlefield now. With the Thousand Sons behind him, the giant sorcerer made his way to the Eldar Warhost. The Autarch turned and saw him, and faced the incoming foe with watchfulness. The exarches stood beside the Autarch, ready to engage at a heartbeart. The sorcerer raised his hand, his host halted and stood at attention. He proceeded to the Eldar host alone.

Lessenia realized that Ahriman paid no attention to the nearly functional Warp Gate. He seemed completely uninterested of it. Knowing the mysterious and deceitful nature of the powers of Tzeentch, the Banshee knew there was more to this scheme that Ahriman was planning in his mind. She raised her glaive raised just when the sorcerer approached a few yards apart until he stopped in his tracks. Ahriman carried his staff in a non-confrontational fashion.

"Eldar. Why did you come back to this forsaken planet? Do you not know what awaits you, in the coming fire?" asked the sorcerer. His voice rumbled softly when he spoke. It had the feeling of a certain coolness and deception that the Thousand Sons had carried for nearly ten thousand years.

The Autarch spoke, her sword at the ready.

"Foul sorcerer of Tzeentch, the cursed god of knowledge. For what interest does yours concern show for us?" asked the Autarch.

"A great power dwells underneath the crust of this planet. I have come to extract it."

"We will stop you. Whatever it takes."

"But you do not know what lies underneath. I relish for this power, as much as I have desired to make it mine, and for the gods.

"Why are you with a Black Legion band?" asked the Autarch, with her sword at the ready.

"The Black Legion is of no importance to me. They are merely pawns to my endeavors," said Ahriman, who was cool in his responses.

The sorcerer turned his attention to the Banshee. The Banshee's defenses were being tapped to by the sorcerer's psykic attack. He then spoke with a mild interest of the warrior

"Your Banshee's visions will be useful to reveal what lies underneath this cursed planet. It has not crossed my mind that she would become a key to the mystery."

"What mystery, foul sorcerer?" asked Lessenia venomously, who tightened the grip on her glaive.

"That is for you to discover, Eldar. In the forthcoming extinction of your race, prepare yourselves for the coming oblivion."

"We will rise again, and banish you Chaos-filth forever, no matter the cost!" the Autarch exclaimed. She readied her sword in preparedness to fight the sorcerer.

"All is dust," said enigmatic Ahriman. Once he finished, there was bright flash of blue fire. Lessenia felt her armor becoming extremely heated by the Warp's energies. Within a few seconds, there were only wisps of smoke and a burnt marker on the ground. The Thousand Sons have disappeared.

The battle was over, but the forthcoming questions were only the beginning.


	9. Chapter 9

This story is focused on Warmaster Kandrovic.

Cheers! R/R

-Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 9: St. Agatha

The dark command bridge of _Cassius Belli_ was illuminated by the light green hole-projection of Paradiso. Their designated regimental insignias highlighted the troops movements of the Imperial Guard. The skull between a pair of columns with an pediment over it represented the Cadians, the Krieg contingent represented with a skull with the double-headed Imperial Eagle with two sabers crossed, and so on. The Warmaster Kandrovic observed these movements with a watchful eye, carefully monitoring the advancement of his forces. Admiral Qanxi was also present. Around the holo-projector officers and representatives of different army groups were also watching the animation of the holo-projections.

Paradiso was not the only planet to be landed. It was oly the rock of the invasion of Battlegroup _Medusa_. The other two Battlegroups, _Ares _and _Aphrodite_, have made their presence only a few hours ago as they exited Warp transition to the Epsilon Sector. The _Ares_ and _Aphrodite_ immediately went to their designated battle zones, just like the Warmaster had commanded. _Medusa's _strategic objective is primarily Paradiso, but three other planets that formed a cluster with the planet were also in _Medusa's_ sights. _Ares and Aphrodite_ had similar objectives.

The Warmaster was informed that an Ordo Malleus force has entered the Epsilon Sector, moving towards one of the other planets around Paradiso. After a meeting with the inquisitor via vox, the Warmaster agreed to prosecute their own agenda, but reminded the inquisitor that he would be observing his actions. What their main objective was a question. Kandrovic had never worked with the Ordo Malleus personally, but he cannot have his precarious feelings with the Inquisition to jeopardize the Crusade. They have their own theater of war, just like he did.

The Master Astropath of _Cassius Belli_, Moura Comsumar, announced in a short time an Adepta Sororitas fleet would arrive. Also, the Mechanicum would arrive within an hour to begin the deployment of their forces. But he was not been informed of the chapters of Adeptus Astartes planned arrival. It seemed to Kandrovic he had most of his cards on the table. Now he had to start dealing.

Surrounding Kandrovic, at the time, were generals who led the three-army groups on Paradiso, along with representatives from _Ares_ and _Aphrodite_. Across from the Warmaster was Lord- General Kaszmir Dombroyzski, commander of Seventh Army of the North. He was of average height; relatively thin build despite the bearing of his ornate red great coat of the Vostroyan Firstborn. He had an ornate headdress that was similar to the ancient Terran bearskin cap. Dombroyzski bristled his grey mustache, for he had a problem with the constant twitching of the mouth. It was to the nerves when he suffered heavy scaring from an artillery shell. He was a younger general in comparison to his commander-in-chief, but there was, for sure, no lack of great promise. Noble blood of Vostroya ran through him, but he hardly imposed himself as such. Having served as an infantryman all of his career, he was known to be on the front lines all the time, much to the anxiety of other Imperial Guard commanders.

To Kandrovic's left was Lord-General Akhan Maximillian, originally of the Cadian Shock, who commands the Fourth Army of the South. The only thing he wore was the simple Cadian officer's garment with a gorget and Carpace Armor. The gorget contained a miniature-force field despite its unscrupulous look. He had a field cap underneath his arm, which exposed his close-cropped hair. His weary, but stern expression was focused at the holo-lith's display of his troops' deployments. Akhan Maximillian was of noble Cadian birth. He had served in artillery and tank companies prior to his ascension. His attention to the topography of any battlefield was second to one. He was known to be versatile in the static and active fighting positions of armored units. Such actions saw him to be one of the more "flexible" generals under Kandrovic.

To his right was Lord-General Friedrich Daethka of the Second Siege Army, whose deathly appearance caused some discomfort among the adjutants. Wearing no more than a ceremonial calvary cuirass, officer's sash, and a leather greatcoat, he was very stark in appearance to his compatriots. His jacket was of steel grey and his calvary boots of ebony black. His respirator covered his mysterious face, with a normal plasteel Krieg helmet on his head. The lean commander had seen much service in his lifetime. Daethka had served as a grenadier before he transferred to the Death Riders. Through independence and self-sufficiency, he was an aggressive officer who, by means, made himself infamous for his merciless actions on his enemies. Unlike the other army commanders, he was promoted throughout his lifetime as a lowly guardsman. He was one of the older commanders in this crusade, his age second to Kandrovic's.

Next to him was Commissar-General of the Second Siege Army, Johann Werther. He served as not only as the senior commissar in the Daethka's forces; he was a personal advisor to him and in a way, more flexible. Daethka was not political or diplomatic in any sense, so it was Werther's duty to act as his double in that specialty.

Surrounding the officers were more adjutants and representatives from different Imperial organizations in the Epsilon Sector, including from _Ares _and _Aphrodite_. It was then Kandrovic decided to begin the meeting.

"Greetings gentleman, the Emperor has certainly blessed us on this day. The crusade is now underway and our forces are nearly assembled in the Epsilon Sector. The enemy are surprised, but we shall soon see its true self in due time."

The men nodded amongst themselves. Kandrovic continued.

"Lord General Dombroyzski, I see your force is beginning to make headway to the south."

"Aye, Lord Warmaster," said the Vostroyan, who spoke in a gruff voice.

"The battle grows thick as it goes on. The five Vostroyan companies have managed to hold on to Paradiso's northern polar fortress while three Harakoni detachments of Stormtroopers have isolated multiple bands of Chaos at Loia Valley, cutting them off from reinforcing the fortress from the northwest. Overall casualties: light. Their respective regiments will be deployed entirely within the hour. Also while more regiments will begin making landfall."

Kandrovic nodded, "Well done, Lord-General, on your accomplishments. I have a new order for you to carry out. As soon as your regiments have completely made landfall, begin advancement to Assumption."

Dombroyzski bowed his head in acknowledgment, his adjundants writing down the order of the Warmaster in print.

"Lord-General Maximillian?"

Maximillian gestured to the holo-lith display, which focused on the general's field of operations.

"Lord Warmaster, four Cadian Karskin squads made landfall on four chaos-held settlements located in the Zandar Wastes. According to the pilots of the Seventy-First Air Squadron, this complex of Chaos filth were one of the toughest my theater of operations. Companies of Cadian, Klenii IV, and Elonians have spread and subjugated a ring of villages a few kilometers south. Low resistance, surprisingly. Now we have established a beachhead for the rest of the regiments of my army to deploy and begin their advancement north. Casualties: light."

The officers around the holo-lith display murmured, the atmosphere of the bridge seemed to lift. There were avoidable casualties on the first day. It was an Imperial commander's dream to have this kind of result, and it was quite a rarity for it happen. There was a sudden feeling of satisfaction inside Kandrovic's mind, but realized when he would turn his attention to Daethka it would be different story.

"A job well done, General Maximillian. Lord-General Daethka?"

All eyes turned to the statue-like figure of the Death Korps general. He spoke in a lifeless and deflated voice. The respirator also added a haunting aspect to the man of Krieg.

"Lord Warmaster, the First Line Korps and the Thirty-Fourth Line Korps have secured a foothold of the southern half of Sector 75A. I have decided to have at least a three Line Korps directly behind the six currently on the attack, so I may use them a reserves to reinforce them. The northern half is nearly under control as elements as the One-Hundred Fourth Line Korps contest. Although it is not as heavily guarded in comparison to the southern half, it will take at least an hour for Sector 75A to be under Imperial control. The casualties sustained were heavy on Day One of the ground offensive.

The officers around the holo-lith murmured around in sudden increase. The atmosphere of the bridge suddenly had most of the officers despondent. They wondered why the Death Korps had to suffer the most casualties than the other armies. They then realized the Death Korps have been given an area where the Chaos influence was the thickest, and some lower staff members grumbled that they wished for tougher fight. Kandrovic nodded at Daethka.

"Well done, Lord General."

Daethka nodded his head to the Warmaster. The Warmaster spoke again, with his arms behind his back.

"Again, the Emperor has blessed us with this success. I expect your complete reports within two hours."

"Lord Warmaster, I apologize for interrupting, may I have permission to speak?" asked the Vostroyan commander.

Kandrovic was slightly surprise, but not annoyed by the interruption.

"Indeed, General Dombroyzski."

"Query to General Daethka: Out of concern for the officers around us, how many men were lost?"

"Eleven thousand three hundred-three casualties," replied the Death Korps commander, whose tone was the same before.

The eyebrows of every commander in the room were raised. The Vostroyan commander seemed embarrassed to having asked a question. Murmurs were heard among the officers, but the Death Korps and his retinue were undisturbed by them. Kandrovic himself was silently surprised by the casualty figure.

"Forgive me, General Daethka..."

"It is nothing to be embarrassed about, Lord Dombroyzski," acknowledged the Krieg officer, "the men have done their duty. They have sought the Emperor's absolution for their servitude."

"True, but could these numbers have been lower," reasoned the troubled Vostroyan, who clearly never worked with Death Korps before.

"No," replied Daethka, unperturbed for his concern, "but I am curious to ask why you are concerned of my men."

"I am only asking, due to the men's…"

"Lord Dombroyzski, I have come from the rank and file. I understand the mindset of a Krieg Guardsman. You do not."

The coldness of the Krieg general spread around the room. Dombroyzski looked unsettled by Daethka's failure to recognize the value of a Guardsman's life. General Maximillian looked concern, but said nothing. Kandrovic decided to end the meeting on cue.

"Thank you generals. Return to your posts and prosecute the foes of Humanity. Emperor be praised."

"Emperor be praised," said the men. The generals saluted to Kandrovic and left the bridge. They filed out silently and the only people remained were Kandrovic, the Admiral, and a few of the Warmaster's personal servitors and adjundants. Kandrovic turned to the Admiral.

"Surprised, Admiral Qanxi?"

"Not as much as the Vostroyan's, Lord Warmaster. But I am quite appalled by General's Daethka's unemotional response to his casualty figures. He seemed completely unperturbed by his response. As if he were a living corpse."

Kandrovic wrinkled his forehead at Qanxi's observation. But he had to admit he would find more cheerfulness in a mass grave than in a Death Korps' army. Kandrovic sighed just as the Master Astropath, Mistress Korlana appeared through the door. She had come to reveal important news to the Warmaster. She spoke as if she were in a trance, her voice like water.

"Lord Warmaster, the Adepta Sororitas Fleet has arrived and are now converging to our position in a few minutes."

"Excellent. Admiral?"

The Admiral nodded in understanding and quickly left his side to give instructions to the bridge. Mistress Korlana spoke again.

"Lord Warmaster, I wish to speak to you alone."

Kandrovic nodded and he accompanied the Astropath out of the bridge. Kandrovic towered the Astropath as he walked down the long hallway of the _Cassius Belli_. Then it was when the Astropath spoke when no one appeared to be in sight.

"The Canoness Preceptor Magdalena of the Order of Our Martyred Lady requests an audience with you for unknown reasons. The reason I wished to tell you this privately is because she, herself, asked to not tell anyone but to the Warmaster."

"I understand, Mistress Korlana, but do you know why she is here?"

"Personally, I do not know for it is not my place to speculate on matters pertaining with the Ecclesiarchy. However, I have no doubt it has to do with either the planet or the Epsilon Sector."

Kandrovic nodded and decided to let the Canoness Preceptor to speak in person about this. "Thank you, Mistress, also have there be any word of the others?"

"No, Warmaster, but I would imagine soon."

"I understand. You may return to your duties, Mistress."

The Chief Astropath bowed and continued down the hall and left the Warmaster by himself until he returned back to the bridge.

* * *

Twenty Minutes later, the Warmaster was in one of the battleship's conference halls, where to the view to his right overlooked Paradiso and the fleet. Along with his entourage, the esteemed Admiral was also at his side. Across the highly-furnish steel table, sat the Canoness Preceptor Magdalena of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and her entourage.

She studied the Warmaster intently and the Warmaster admitted to himself that the iron woman in front of her was quite intimidating. She carried the presence of wisdom and unshakable faith in her duties. It felt in the conference that the Canoness had more influence than the Warmaster. He knew that was not case, because the Canoness was the symbol the common people can look up to.

Kandrovic studied her appearance as his bionic eye scanned of this newcomer. The Canoness Preceptor did not wear her battle-plate as Kandrovic expected. She instead wore a robe with the colors of her order: black with a hint of blood red. Her shock white hair was a whole new color to Kandrovic, either she dyed it or it was the natural aging process. Her ice-blue eyes were as penetrating to the power of a battleship's lance. The Canoness faint scars on her left side of her face but were only visible to a light source. She was nearly reaching the age of sixty-six, but she did not look so for her face angelic. Her posture was upright as a pair of servitors poured goblets of wine for the Kandrovic, Qanxi, and the Canoness.

Kandrovic spoke first.

"Canoness Preceptor Magdalena, I am pleased you have arrived in time for the crusade. I have feared the Warp would impend your arrival."

Magdalena nodded in acknowledgement in response. "Thank you, Lord Warmaster Helmut Kandrovic. The Warp has been clear for the last few days. It was only by the Grace of the Emperor that we are here intact, in time to prosecute his foes."

She spoke with such clarity and eloquence that the Warmaster could not take away his focus away from her words. Even when he had greeted her personally in the _Cassius Belli's _largest docking bay, her words of greeting were still in his head.

"Aye, Canoness. I thank the Emperor, as well."

"Warmaster, may I enquire you with a question?"

"Certainly, Canoness."

"Why do you think we are here?"

The Warmaster was caught off guard by her question, for he had that question formulated in his head. Even the Admiral was silently surprised by her approach. Kandrovic was silent for a moment. The Canoness smiled wryly.

"I suppose that question has been on your mind as well?"

"Aye, Canoness. Forgive me for my silence for I was at lost for words."

"It is all right. I believed it would not right to leave the commander of one of the largest crusades to be kept in the dark in the first place."

"I am humbled, Canoness."

The Canoness gestured to one her menial behind her to give a data-slate to the Warmaster. Curious, the Warmaster read briskly at the contents of the slate. The Canoness continued.

"Paradiso, unbeknownst to many, is the homeworld to one of our greatest saints of our order, Saint Agatha."

Warmaster tried to recall the name of Saint Agatha, but could not.

"Forgive my ignorance, Canoness, for I am unfamiliar to with the exploits of the Saint."

"She was not the most well-known in comparison to our patron saint, Saint Katherine, and the mysterious Saint Celestine. Four hundred years ago, Saint Agatha fought against a Chaos warband on the planet of Gorson IV, out in the Segmentum Pacificus, not far from the Sabbat Worlds. Saint Agatha was a Legatine Advance; one could say she was one step away from her ascension to becoming a Canoness."

Kandrovic was already enamored by the Canoness' story. He enjoyed stories and tales of esteemed men and women who served the Emperor and Humanity with such valor.

"What happened to the Saint Agatha?"

"Saint Agatha confronted the leader of the Chaos Warband. It was Khornnate warlord by the name of Djorn the Bloody". Saint Agatha confronted the warlord and a great duel occurred. The Khornnate warlord mortally wounded Saint Agatha, but Saint Agatha would not allow the warlord to slay any more of her own sisters."

Magdalena took a sip of wine before continuing, an emerging passion in her voice.

"She brought down her blade to the heart of the traitor warlord and beheaded him in unholy rage. With absolute bloodlust for her enemies, she killed any enemy she saw. Her eyes shone with holy fire. Saint Agatha continued to suffer more injuries, but she seemed invulnerable due to shrug anything at her way. When the battle was dying down, she succumbed to her grievous wounds. Witnesses claimed before she died, she asked quietly if her sisters were all right. Before they could give their answer, she was at peace."

Kandrovic was so stunned at the heroism of Saint Agatha that his wine remained untouched. It was just the same as Admiral Qanxi. The Canoness then closed her eyes in conclusion to the tale.

"Saint Agatha was then interned back to Paradiso after the battle. A shrine was later erected in her honor and the city she was born was named after her. The news spread of her exploits and the Synod of the Ecclesiarchy declared her to be a saint. From my earlier sentence, you now what our purpose is here, at Paradiso."

Kandrovic nodded.

"Saint Agatha is in danger."

"Yes, her remains are interned at one of the main cities on this planet. The Canoness Superior of my order had instructed my preceptory, for which it was nearest, to protect her shrine. I am also order to join your crusade for an indefinite time. The shrine is my primary, but once that is complete, I will commit myself to the crusade for an unknown period."

"I understand. Also, Saint Agatha is one of my secondary objectives on route to our primary objective of Paradiso," said Kandrovic as he sipped his wine, "how would you like to approach it?"

The Canoness had already had a plan to present to the Warmaster.

"I do not wish to inhibit your plans, so I shall work as a separate force. My forces shall occupy the shrine and as much of the city, if possible. There is no doubt; the Chaos will absolutely want to destroy St. Agatha and her defenders. It is a numbers game and I pray to the God-Emperor that my forces can outlast them."

Kandrovic thought about her plan. A numbers game, she said. Already his mind knew whom to rely on to assist the Canoness, if required.

"I see no complication in our cooperation. If you wish for assistance, I will send whoever is available as soon as possible."

He turned to the Admiral.

"Admiral Qanxi, would it be possible to provide air cover for the Canoness once she is in position?"

The Admiral bowed his head to the Canoness.

"Canoness, I can provide air cover as long as our own forces are not stretched to the limit where the Navy must divide and share its resources. However, I can guarantee that the skies will be held for the Canoness' forces."

The Canoness bowed in acknowledgment.

"Thank you, Admiral. I believe it is time for my forces to make landfall."

The three leaders stood up and made the sign of the Aquila to each other.

"May the God-Emperor watch all of us," said the Canoness her voice grave, but warm with intention.


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf's PoV. The Lessenia and Wolf will very soon.

-Cheers,  
Warmaster23

Chapter 10:

**Beautiful/ The Arrival**

* * *

It was an exhausting first day for Wolf and his squad. Having secured the fortress, the Fifth Squad and remnants of the Grenadier Company set up a defensive perimeter along with the remainder of the Second and Tenth Guard Companies. The rest of the Fifth Siege and the First Line Korps were being deployed alongside of them, but for a fact the three companies were the lead element of the Krieg war machine. The casualties have been staggering, but that was expected. The Grenadiers had three hundred fifty-six dead and at least another two hundred wounded. The Second and Tenth Companies had a similar casualty figure to compare with the Grenadiers. However, the casualties did not matter so long as the objective has been achieved.

It was currently twenty-three hundred hours, but the Death Korps were still active. Wolf replaced his helmet for a common fatigue cap of the Death Korps, but still retained his respirator. He made sure his hellgun and pack were in fighting condition in case of a night raid or tomorrow's trip. The Watchmaster was about to get some well-deserved rest along with the few members of the squad. Zohlle, Bernik, and Helken took some rest as well. The rest watched into the darkness in the trench. It was Death Korps procedure; once an area has been secured the Korps would establish an intricate web of trenches or foxholes that would be connected squad-to-squad, then company-to-company, and regiment-to-regiment. However, it was expect it was only a temporary doctrine, because the company had orders that they would move out the next few days and seek out the enemy.

Before Wolf decided to get some rest, he decided to make one last round before the exhaustion would take over him. The mortar detachments fired long-ranged flares from the fortress to the unknown area ahead of them. The bright illuminations made out most of the topography ahead. Wolf calculated at least one hundred-fifty yards ahead of his trench, where it also showed if they were enemies out there, they would know the mortar's extent fire. His trench was positioned to the east of the fortress, at the direction of their primary objective, the capital. There were a series of low and high plateaus ahead, but strategically, the Death Korps held the high ground. Although they held the high ground, the Death Korps knew it would worth nothing if certain measures were not addressed, such as heavy weapons and the deployment of mines.

The grenadiers had already mined most of the area in front of them. Wolf watched as the descending flare disappeared in front of them before another one took its place. The remaining grenadiers on sentry duty remained on high alert for any enemy movement, which was quite common on their past campaigns. The Veteran Watchmaster conferred with each member of his squad on duty and then decided to get some shuteye. Company comms were open so all Korps in vicinity were tuned into any enemy troops movements in their area. Wolf sat and propped himself against the trench wall and was soon asleep.

* * *

Wolf then woke up and slowly pulled himself up from the ground. However, it was not the dirt of the trench, but rather green grass. Wolf quickly got up and realized that he was no longer in trench. He quickly looked around and saw the world that he was once in was not there anymore. The world around him was clean, completely devoid of life. The grass plains were never ending, far outstretched as far as Wolf's eyes could see. The skies were blue with a few clouds in the sky and sun radiated, basking the whole plain in sunlight. To the distance, mountains with snow-capped peaks commanded the plain all around Wolf. It was paradise, but Wolf saw it in a different light.

"What is this? Another dream? More witchcraft?" asked a disbelieved Wolf, unconvinced what he was experiencing.

Instinctively he reached for his bayonet, which to his relief remained attached to his side. At least he had a weapon at his side, which was more than enough for Wolf. He decided no good would come just milling around; he no choice but to discover the mystery of this dream. Wolf sighed and proceeded to walk wherever it may lead him to.

Wolf never felt grass before. But he had to admit that it was quite interesting. The world before him was alien and peaceful, but it was the peaceful aspect that greatly bothered the wandering grenadier. In his lifetime, he had served the nastiest and deadliest parts of the galaxy. It was the call of the Death Korps to take up arms in any hazardous war zone, but it was only one thing they knew. They knew war, and all of its aspects. The wind emerged from the southeast and the green plains seem to submit to the breeze with its soft brushing.

The observant watchmaster continued down to the edge of the plain and crossed a small brook, with the water gleaming in the emerging sunlight. Wolf continued on his trek, taking very little of everything around. He had no idea he was going and he incensed to be trapped within his own dream. The grenadier continued to walk anyway, because at the end of the road, there had to be something to make sense of his own abstract odyssey.

"Damn it all to hell," muttered Wolf, as he climbed up a hill.

The flustered watchmaster came into view a large, shining lake. It momentarily made Wolf's pupils dilate from thousands of reflective rays from the sun. He stood on top of the hill and viewed the majesty of nature before him. Still, he did not fell the beauty or transcending emotions from the view. At the edge of the lake, directly below Wolf's position was a small gazebo. The building seemed to also radiate and gleam from the sun and the grenadier decided to investigate, for there was no building during his long hike.

Wolf clambered down the hill, the greatcoat swaying against the wind as it blew against the soldier. The watchmaster unsheathed his bayonet-sword and readied it in case of anything unexpected. He was within twenty-five yards of the gazebo and now he could make out its architectural features. It was quite a simple construct, despite its white sheen. Tall columns supported the titled conical roof all around, except for the entrance. But there was something that immediately came to Wolf's attention.

There was a figure with its back towards Wolf. The guardsmen assumed it was a female, judging by its lithe figure. She was tall, too, probably on the same level as the grenadier. The figure wore a lightweight and silky gown that draped her figure like a bodysuit. Her long, tempered, raven-black hair ran down to the mid-length of her figure. She stared out at the lake, seemingly preoccupied by its brilliance and beauty.

Wolf was not sure to make of her as he cautiously walked to her. Suddenly, out of the blue, her voice came out like a warm breeze, with a soothing connotation.

_"Human,"_ she said. But she spoke without malice, but rather an acknowledgment of his presence. Her voice appeared within his shelled mind.

Wolf gripped the blade tighter as he approached and prepared to face the mysterious woman in front of him. The woman spoke again in the same tone.

_"Human, sheath your weapon; your bearing greatly troubles me."_

Wolf remained silent, but stood in his tracks.

_"Please, human,"_ her voice remained the same, but firm with resolve.

With reluctance Wolf, sheathed his weapon. He still nevertheless trained his cold and lifeless eyes at this figure, who was still looking out to the see. The figure slowly turned as if she were in a trance and faced him. Wolf's mind raced and his fingers felt a tingling sensation. It was the same as the same witch from his previous dream! Wolf felt inclined to pull out his blade and end the life of this witch. But yet, he could not will himself to do so.

The woman gazed upon the metal-masked soldier in front of her and observed him as if he were in a science experiment. She walked around him, observing this silent human before here. Wolf felt her eyes stalking around his back, but chose to remain where he was, with his hand ready to pull the blade. The silence around him and the peace unsettled him greatly. Finally, Wolf was compelled to speak.

"We have crossed paths before," said the grim grenadier, who continued to gaze ahead.

The figure then faced him directly, her pose relaxed with her hands at her side.

"Yes, human, we have," replied the figure. She spoke without the need of telepathy.

Wolf wondered what to do next. He could either ask another question or conjure up a meaningless observation.

"I would have accepted death with open arms, but yet you chose not to deliver what I desired."

"That is true, but it is not your destiny."

"I have been destined to die ever since I came to existence. My death is a necessity. Answer me, why the dreams?"

The figure gave no answer for a few seconds and then spoke again.

"I would like to walk along the lake, for it is very serene. Will you accompany me?"

The grenadier stood his ground at the request, but he would not get the answers he wanted if he did not comply. He gestured the figure to lead on and he walked by her side out of the gazebo. The pair walked silently along the lake's edge. The green plains continued outward as signs of thriving vegetation sprouted. Wolf turned his gaze to female, whose attention was focused out to the lake, again. Wolf wondered this figure was so endeared by the lake's aesthetic beauty. He could obviously not see it.

"You are not entranced by the lake's beauty?" asked the female.

_"Did she just read me mind?"_ wondered Wolf suspiciously.

"Yes, human, I indeed read your mind. I must say it was a challenge, for your mind was relatively...strong-willed"

The grenadier grunted, "Why take an interest on someone like me? There are trillions of humans to pick and poke their minds like a carcass." He stopped in his tracks and looked at the figure, "why me?"

The mysterious woman stopped in her tracks and looked at Wolf with intent.

"Has death always been your mind?"

Wolf stared at her.

"Ever since I experienced war on-hand."

The women nodded at his answer as the two resumed their walk.

"Why do you wish to die?"

"For the humanity's existence and the Emperor." His response crisp and brief.

"You certainly would not be doing humanity a favor by dying needlessly. Particularly to your fellow Krieg brethren."

Wolf refused to believe her antics, but decided to ignore it.

"You still have not answered my question," said Wolf.

"I say the same, myself," answered female, whose tone seemed a bit playful.

Wolf bristled under his mask at this conversational deadlock, not at all enjoying the game she was playing.

"Look, witch..."

"Correction: I am not a witch." Reminded the unperturbed woman.

"If you are not a witch, then what are you? Only a witch or sorceress can penetrate one's mind in such a vivid manner."

"Have you ever experienced sorcery of any kind, Wolf?" asked the woman, who was coy enough to emphasize his name. The grenadier tensed at female's knowledge of his name, even though she spoke no mockery. He was silent, but before he could ask who the woman was, she replied.

The woman turned to him as she spoke, "I am a figment of your imagination, an allegory within the very recesses of your conscience."

"Oh?" said Wolf immediately, "what do you even represent in my mind?"

"Hope."

Wolf again was silent for he was not familiar to the alien term. He mentally scoffed with disdain.

"Do you still have those stomach pains?"

"Not anymore."

"It is because of the dreams. I believe the dream you are experiencing now and the one prior are both connected to an unforeseeable event." Acknowledged the female.

"I know what ends; it is death," replied the grenadier.

"I suppose you are utterly convinced that you will die."

"There is no doubt in mind. I will happily embrace it."

"I know you will."

"Are you saying that because you are in my head or do you really mean it?"

The female paused in her tracks and looked at Wolf, her eyes squinting.

"Do you always wear that mask?"

Wolf shrugged in assent, "Yes."

"Facing death with death. One's submission to life's end by being death reincarnate."

"I do not understand why do these dreams pertain to me, or the fact that you are a conjured-up piece of imagination." Said Wolf.

This time, the female decided to reveal what Wolf wanted to know.

"Wolf, you wonder why these dreams happen to you. Honestly, I do not the answer for that. The fates and destinies of an individual are often unpredictable. Even the infamous Death Korps of Krieg are not excused from this. You, Wolf, are experiencing these unusual occurrences, because you are destined for the unexpected."

Wolf was silent on the matter as he digested the woman's words. He then spoke in a dreaded voice.

"It is because these dreams that I am slowly beginning to lose myself to these trivial things. I could honestly give a damn about this talk about destiny and fate. My fate is entirely predestined. I am destined to die. Do not talk of anything that may change the fact. It is done. I am prepared to sacrifice myself for the existence of humanity and to the Emperor."

The women spoke in a form firmer voice this time, his eyes squinting at him.

"Do you not hear yourself becoming less human? You are insular, cold, and fatalistic. Do you not believe you have a chance to see your life through? You already have given up, Wolf. You are nothing more than a walking corpse, expecting something to tip you over."

"Yes," affirmed Wolf, who seemed satisfied by her understanding.

The women sighed, seemingly unperturbed by his response.

"Tell me, Wolf. What do you see in yourself?"

"In myself?"

"Yes."

Wolf gave no hesitant answer.

"I do not see myself as anything or anybody, but a miniscule cog that keeps the war machine going."

"Do you wish to know what I see in you?"

"No."

"But I will, regardless. I see you afraid of the unexpected. Long have you expected to die in the field of battle, but your death will not have any significant meaning. Death is a part of life, but its concept is not linear. One passes on as another begins. It is a natural process that one must accept. However, given the fact that you are ready to embrace death; I am curious if you are willing to see and face death as not the end of all things, but."

Wolf coldly faced her up close and to her credit she did not back away.

"Are you saying I am afraid of death?"

"You have no doubt prepared yourself for it, but that could change. I know you see your life as spent, but I see it otherwise."

"I extremely doubt your premonitions," Wolf said coldly as he felt his hand linger around the blade's handgrip, "but why do you believe death is beautiful?

The woman shrugged and gestured to the lake before her, tone with the same resolve as before.

"The lake, here, is beautiful. It is not because of its aesthetic beauty. I feel great tranquility transcending through my body. How nature's majesty compels her subjects with untapped beauty is beyond me. When the great winter approaches, everything here will die. However, the vegetation's decay is not meaningless, because in a matter of months it will be reborn anew. Although its death occurs and a life ends, never forget it is a gift. It is a gift and blessing that you are alive, regardless how bad things may be around you. That includes your life, however insignificant you may feel about it."

Wolf was silent on the matter, thinking about what the woman had said. Suddenly the women's gaze was directly shifted above Wolf's and her eyes are darkened. The confused Wolf turned around and saw large dark clouds emerging above the hill. It looked very menacing as the wind pushed with it, wide patterns spreading as far as the eye can see. The wind slowly picked up around the pair as Wolf turned to the woman, who grabbed each of his arms and looked at him straight in the eye. Wolf saw her staring at him; her eyes purposeful and strong. Her voice was strong as his blade when her words pierced him.

"You are to be sent back! Remember what I have told you! The darkness approaches, something dark and grim is slowly bearing fruition. It will engulf the world like a blanket, smothering all hope and light! Most of all, it will engulf you!"

"Is it the Chaos?" asked Wolf, above the din of the gathering storm. The woman did not reply.

"You are strong Wolf and be in such matter. I know you as well as yourself! Do not fail yourself and others, but remember to mold yourself in your own humanistic qualities! I know it is there, underneath years of indoctrination and war!"

The figure's eyes turned bright blue like plasma. Then Wolf impulsively blurted something he would have never have thought he would.

"Wait! Will I see you again in my dreams?"

The figure smiled, "I take different forms within your mind. I might be the same or the very opposite. It all depends on you, Wolf. Now we must go!"

Before Wolf could think, an instantaneous flash of light engulfed Wolf and the figure. The darkness rolled through the plains, eclipsing the sun that was once there.

* * *

Wolf immediately sat up from his sleeping position. He quickly looked around and saw he was back in the trench with his squad. In front of him was second-in-command, who knelt and looked at his leader with intention. Wolf gave no thought about what he experienced and immediately ordered Fejhka for a status report. Fejhka replied that nothing had occurred since Wolf fell asleep. The flares continued to be propelled into the night.

"What is the time, Corporal?" asked a slightly dazed Wolf, who tucked his garrison cap away and clipped on his plasteel helmet.

"Watchmaster, it is currently 0300 hours. In concern for my squad leader's well-being, are you all right?" replied Fejhka.

Wolf waved him away, "Aye, Corporal, I am. Why don't you take some rest now? I will take your watch."

"Yes, sir."

Wolf gathered his hellgun and went over to the front of the trench. He watched the area in front of him until dawn appeared. During the time, he compounded in the dream together to make light on certain questions. Although Wolf would like to dismiss what he had experienced, he was still enamored by the woman's words. As long as Wolf was alive, he would not escape her revelations, no matter how hard he tried.

* * *

Over the next several days, the Death Korps army was making comfortable progress. Despite the huge logistical demands, they have successfully captured Gladben and were crossing over the border to continent of Benos, where its capital, Assumption, stood tall. However, the capital was near the eastern fringes of the continent. The Seventh and Fourth Armies were making slower progress, due the encumbering terrain and pockets of chaos resistance. Most of the guard commanders were surprised that there has been no word or sighting on a Chaos fleet or any warp-induced foes on the planet. _Ares _and _Aphrodite _have already conducted their plans on other planets, but to their surprise, the enemy was not as strong as expected. Some have arrogantly believed they have driven the Chaos scum before making landfall, but many of the commanders expected something to come out of the blue.

The First Line Korps had positioned themselves fifty-five kilometers outside of Saint Agatha, one of major shrines in the Segmentum Tempestus. The One-Hundred Fourth Line Korps captured one of the major fortress-cities north of the continent, which allowed itself to focus to the south and link up with the Seventh Army. Enemy resistance stiffened as the First Line Korps committed itself for the primary objective. The Thirty-Fourth Line Korps linked with the First and began to swing around from the south. Casualties mounted up and it figures steadily climbed. The other Korps were facing the same kind of resistance as the army formed a pincer-like attack intended for Assumption. After Saint Agatha, there was at least one hundred kilometers before they reached the walls of Assumption. When everything seemed to moving smoothly, they came out of nowhere.

_Ares _made first contact. Two combined fleets of the Alpha Legion and Astral Claws. An intense naval engagement occurred as the enemy deployed its forces in _Ares'_ location. One Space Hulk was detected as it began its descent on one of the planets. _Aphrodite_'s fleet engaged the enemy with the Emperor's fury, but the enemy managed to deploy their forces on the planets. Casualties skyrocketed in both battlegroups. Now _Medusa_ remained untouched. The Warmaster heard the urgent requests for reinforcements emerged from _Ares _and _Aphrodite_, but before he made the decision to send some ships, the Adeptus Astartes arrived.

Five strike forces emerged from all over the sector, but the rest were yet to arrive. A crusading fleet of the zealous Black Templars immediately began its assistance to _Ares_, even though they did not commit to the crusade beforehand. The Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers deployed worked in their own way, smashing into the enemy and then evading them. The Space Marines now began their deployment in the Epsilon sector, deploying their forces to counteract the Chaos presence all over. The Howling Griffons and Steel Corinthians committed themselves to _Ares' _predicament. The Ordo Malleus had not come yet. The Mechanicus have not arrived, either. The Warp's chaotic turbulence grew tremendously due the presence of the Chaos, which it would delay the Imperial's forces for an indefinite time.

Then the Black Legion arrived. It was a sizable warfleet, a match for Admiral Qanxi's battlegroup. The leader of Black Legion Warband was also the architect of the overall Chaos offensive, Lord Dorangoth the Champion of the Chaos Undivided. A Space Hulk emerged and began an immediate descent of Paradiso. Two strike forces of the Iron Swords and Vanquishers harried the Black Legion warfleet as both sides began their deployment on Paradiso. Qanxi's ships tried to bring down the Space Hulk before it could land and deploy its cargo, but to no avail. The Space Hulk had entered Paradiso's atmosphere, its intent was to engage the Imperial Guard and crush it.

The Epsilon Crusade was in full throttle. All across the sector, the Imperial Forces were beginning to feel the tremor of the Chaos offensive. The question that remained in the Warmaster Kandrovic's head was whether his crusade was in jeopardy, already. But he did not know of another force on Paradiso, retaliating against the forsworn traitors to humanity at the same time.


	11. Chapter 11

The truth of Paradiso is revealed. The roads of Wolf and Lessenia are about to cross very soon. R/R please.

-Cheers,

Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 11:

**The Discovery**

The Banshee was in a destroyed city, fighting a god. Lessenia saw in front of her a titan of fire and blood. The god annihilated her warriors before her, sending others reeling back. Flaying and burning everyone dear to Lessenia, the giant then focused on her. It raised its sword and smashed home in front of her, sending the super-heated fire from his blade all around her. She never felt the pain so terrible as the fire consumed her and then it suddenly ended.

* * *

She woke up bleakly and weakly pushed her upper body off ground. Lessenia was in a grievous state as she lay in the dirt. She looked down and heavy burning all around her body. Multiple burnings encumbered her legs so she could barely move them even without having to feel an incredible amount of pain. Her vambraces and gauntlets were heavily damaged and her helmet was in front of her, cracked and her mane tattered. Still it snarled at her, just like it did to her enemies. The glaive was on her left, once a great weapon was a molten slag. Her breathing was ragged and slow, but her mind was strong enough to stay conscious. She looked around; great spires of a destroyed city surrounded her like a mountain. But on the ground, it was unimaginably worse.

The dying banshee looked around and saw bodies of her warriors all around her. They were dead. It was mixture of every Eldar warrior serving in the craftworld. The Avengers, Banshees Guardians, Scorpions, and every armor-colored warrior were all lying around her. The robotic Wraithguards and Wraithlords were destroyed and silent. Falcon Grav-Tanks were obliterated, its flaming wreckages all over the battlefield.

Lessenia saw Uansi, hacked into pieces. A crude weapon impaled Vaclai. Every Exarch she saw suffered a terrible fate, but the worst was the Autarch. The Autarch's body was a few meters away in front of her. The great warrior's armor was dented and cracked, ruining the beautiful armor of the great commander. Her burnt helmeted face was heavily damaged, revealing the gore and all to Lessenia. Lessenia had never seen so much death and destruction at once.

Lessenia realized she was the only one alive and when he looked down even closer, the ground was literally covered by her comrades' blood. She looked down at her own hands that were soaked in precious Eldar blood amidst the burnt earth. How she grieved for them and their terrible fate! The shock had worn off and soon felt like succumbing to the encroaching wave of appalling and calamitous emotions. How she wished she were dead in order to join her Eldar compatriots!

She then felt the presence of a something right in front of her. She quickly looked up, praying it would a survivor. But she was greatly mistaken. In front of her was a large figure covered in black, tattered drapery. It wore a great mask in shape of a skull, but it was different to more beautiful masks of the Reapers. It was a much more simplified, but it still carried the ominous presence of death. It was shaped geometrically like a skull, but it was relatively flat and cruder in comparison to the reapers. There were a few grooves at the base of the mask, most likely representing teeth. Its eyes were two circles, but it they were heavily tinted. It seemed Death stood in front of her, ready to claim her soul back to the craftworld.

The figure knelt beside her and inspected the fallen warrior before it. It cocked its head side-to-side. It pulled a large blade from its back, contemplating whether to release her or to let her suffer.

"What do you make your fate? Do you believe what you have fought for, has come to naught?" asked the figure, whose voice spoke in coldness.

Lessenia squirmed around in her suffering, but looked at the figure. Struggled to get her bearings straight before she could make a weak reply.

"My fate is a…necessity. What I…have fought…for is for the survival of the Eldar."

"Really?" asked the curious figure, "what makes you think you have achieved something in your final hours? You are about to die and everyone you know is dead. Should you not succumb at your inevitable demise?"

Lessenia's mind was going in and out of consciousness. All this talking was taxing her strength.

"No. I refuse to die…without acknowledging victory has been achieved…for the Eldar."

"It is about your people, I understand," said the figure as playfully stroked his blade, "but what about yourself?"

"Myself?" asked Lessenia.

"Yes, do you not see your victory has not been achieved? Look at your comrades, broken and lying in the wastes of battle. This great sacrifice resulted nothing. You failed. You failed yourself and your people. That is all that matters."

Lessenia was already beginning to lose consciousness, "Damn…you…I will live…to see…their lives…are avenged."

The figure stood up and stared at her, "Face it Eldar, you are done. Nothing more can be done to rescue your failure."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Why should I? Already you are dying within your own pool of shame."

Lessenia wanted to end the life of this person in front of her, but had not the strength to do so. She felt herself letting go from this existence, the talking ebbing away her.

"Lies. You lie! The Eldar will…survive."

"Such an illusion you have committed yourself to. But what I say is true. Farewell, Lessenia of the Eldar, we shall meet again."

The figure turned around and walked away from her amongst the ruins of war. Lessenia began to lose herself, her breathing and heart rate slowing down. Finally, she succumbed to the darkness, but was not at peace.

* * *

No longer adorned in her armor, Lessenia walked the stark halls of the Eldar encampment on her way to the Autarch's chambers. Even after the bloody battle many days ago, Ahriman's words still continued to perforate her mind. The battle had taken a blow on the Eldar and Lessenia herself lost a few warriors from the action. After the Warp Gate was destroyed, the Eldar continued to pounce on Chaos outposts all over the Eastern Hemisphere.

She really wondered if she was the key to solve Ahriman's mysterious motive on Paradiso. Ahriman seemed to be aware of her dream as well, but last dream occurred many weeks ago, until she experienced one last night. The thought made Lessenia stop in her tracks and ponder about it. She felt cold, despite wearing a warm gown with the colors of Banshee Aspect.

The dream made her unsettled since she saw everybody she knew perished in battle. Even when she saw Uansi a few hours ago, she seemed beside herself. Uansi visibly looked concerned after an awkward greeting, but decided to not question her. After all, she would be meeting the Exarches in the Autarch's chamber for a meeting. She realized her weakness, failure to the craftworld. It was poison for the Banshee to think about it, but she could control the fear after the dream. Knowing she would have to be one hundred percent herself for the Autarch's meeting, she continued her destination. However it continued to hang over her head.

* * *

"Exarch Lessenia? Exarch?" repeated the Autarch, trying to get the Banshee's attention.

Lessenia shivered as she came back to reality. She had zoned out again in the Autarch's meeting and everybody in the room looked at her intently. Embarrassed, Lessenia blushed at her lax attention.

"Autarch, I extremely apologize for my behavior. It is my lack of focus that is keeping me out of line."

The Autarch looked concern, but decided to press on the issue.

"Exarch Lessenia, you have been acting different today. What made you become so distant from your own self?"

Lessenia looked uncomfortably at the Exarches next to her. She then looked at her worried Autarch and the Farseer who was beside her.

"My fellow Exarches, my Autarch, and Farseer. The previous night, I dreamt of something very catastrophic. Autarch, I am afraid it has surpassed my previous dream."

This certainly caught their attention and everybody shifted their eyes to her. The Autarch's eyes darkened at her response. The Farseer looked very curious about what she had to saw."

"Continue, my warrior, tell us what you have experienced."

Lessenia told the tale from start to finish. As the tale continued, every Eldar looked concern and worried about her dream. She told them about the deaths of the Eldar, the mysterious harbinger, and her failure. The Farseer closed his eyes in concentration, trying to make sense of the Banshee's story.

Once she had finished, the Autarch had her hand over her mouth as she contemplated the dream.

"I am at loss with words," admitted the Autarch, who was greatly troubled by the tale's end.

"I sincerely apologize that I have mentioned this. I understand this greatly distresses every single one of us in this meeting," offered Lessenia, thought it sounded weak in her mind.

Uansi spoke, "But how does this relate to Ahriman's mission. From what I heard, it is more of the result of it. We do not even know what it is he seeks!"

Vaclai replied, "But judging from the extensive damage of it, its effects are utterly devastating!"

Tohvenen also contributed, "It also does not help the fact the Imperials are here as well. The Chaos have come here in great strength and Warp spawn creatures would wreck havoc!"

"Silence, please Exarches compose yourselves," reprimanded the Autarch, "Despite the Chaos arrival, I am curious also of the Imperial's intentions."

The Warp Spider Exarch, Gila Mor'ika, also made his aggressive views open, "The humans are not to be trusted and must be treated as the enemy as well!"

As the Exarches bickered amongst themselves, the Autarch made her way to the holo-module. She typed a few keys as the projection revealed Paradiso and its surrounding systems in the Segmentum Tempestus. Holo-displays of Imperial and Chaos fleets' positions surrounded the Epsilon Sector. The red represented the Chaos and the green represented the humans.

"The humans are here in Paradiso because of the Chaos presence in the area, due to the proximity to their "sacred" Solar System. Do you recall the Imperial's actions the past one hundred years? They have fought the Great Enemy with great ferocity and numbers, so I must assume they have been trying to retake systems that were under Chaos control. That is what is going on here. They are retaking Paradiso and its surrounding systems to get rid of the Chaos stain, but they are unaware of our presence. They do not know Paradiso was one of our Craftworld's greatest jewels prior to our fall."

Then everything made sense to Lessenia and the others. Now they have a clear-cut idea why the humans were here in the first place and why there was a Chaos presence, as well. But it did not answer the question to why Ahriman was here, in search of something.

The Autarch continued, "Ahriman said the Black Legion was of no importance to him. But two more Chaos warbands have made their mark in the system as well. I have no doubt they are involved in Ahriman's plan. Whatever trickery Ahriman is playing, I am very much convinced he was in search of something great and terrible. The problem we face is that we do not know what it is he in search for."

"But do the humans know of Ahriman's unknown plan?" asked Vaclai.

"I am afraid not. They are very linear in their objective to eradicate the Chaos presence in this sector."

The Farseer then spoke, his grave voice trance-like throughout the chamber.

"My Autarch and fellow Exarches. I now why Ahriman is here on Paradiso."

The attention focused on the Farseer. The Farseer spoke again, this time more slowly.

"I sensed Ahriman's plans as of now. He is standing amongst the ruins of a human city. He stands before a titan sitting on a giant throne, encrusted in iron ore. He speaks in our tongue …then the molten eyes of the titan awaken. It…kneels before Ahriman and pledges his allegiance."

Lessenia could not comprehend who the titan was, but she knew it was connected, nonetheless, to her dream.

The Farseer continued.

"My Autarch, do you recall the name of Alai'Kein?"

The Autarch pondered on the name, "Alai'Kein was the name of the Craftworld's Greatest Avenger Exarch. He had lived over ten thousand years ago before the humans and their Emperor began their crusade. He was a brilliant commander, but he was very enamored by the blood of his enemies. Rumored has it that his soul was consumed by the Pleasure God."

"Aye, do you not remember the infamous legend he left behind, Autarch?"

The Autarch nodded and spoke in a dreaded voice, "The spirit of Khaela Mensha Khaine combined with his soul. He became an Avatar of Khaine and Alai'Kein was one of the first Eldar to be sacrificed to Khaine's spirit. He glorified the Craftworld when he destroyed his enemies. However, in one battle, he became berserk from the battles with the humans that he killed hundreds of his own. He was unstoppable and his allegiance to the Craftworld was severed."

The Farseer nodded, "He retreated through the Webway after a titanic battle with his own. He emerged from the Webway and settled in one of the most distant Maiden Worlds of the Alaitoc. It is said he lies dormant underneath the surface of Paradiso, waiting for someone to call for him to go to war. There is word that the combined power of Khaine and the Pleasure God keeps him asleep and alive for ten-thousand years. It is said that he is buried underneath the plains of Fain'Kaign, which the humans have made their built their citadel and named it Assumption."

Quickly Lessenia added the legend and her own dream together. She then spoke softy, like a drop of water falling into a puddle.

"By the blood of Khaine, then the giant that I saw in my vision. It was Alai'Kein, fighting against us."

Silence penetrated the chamber. Every warrior looked beyond shocked and shaken of the revelation. The goal of Ahriman now revealed itself to them: awaken the god and unleash him across the galaxy.

The Autarch spoke again, more troubled than ever, "What of the Humans, then?"

The Farseer signed, "We do not have the effective means to counteract the Chaos and Humans in one sitting. If Ahriman awakens the Alai'Kein, then all will be lost. Morale would be destroyed beyond restoration amongst the humans and they would fall to the Chaos in this sector. Their influence will spread from here and have the Avatar make waste on every world it encounters."

Lessenia thought about it for a good while and then spoke; praying her compatriots would accept it.

"My Autarch, may I contribute an unorthodox plan?"

"Anything that would ensure Alai'Kein to be destroyed and the difficult task before us," sighed the Autarch.

Lessenia sounded hesitant as she revealed her plan, "My Autarch and fellow warriors. The plan I present should counteract the Chaos threat and Alai'Kein together. We need to side ourselves with the humans from this endeavor."

To Lessenia's surprise, none reacted negatively to her words. She knew in her mind that there were concerns and mixed feelings being compounded into one. Even Tohvenen, who was extremely hostile of humans, was silent. The Autarch was silent, but was in silent agreement with the Banshee.

"I agree," came a cold and grim voice after several moments. It was the hulking Gorlan, who had his arms across his chest and his masked face faced Lessenia.

"We cannot do this alone. However, the humans would probably be not enthused of our presence at first, but given the foreboding calamity I believe we can achieve a working partnership." Lessenia was taken back by the silent Reaper's words and felt incredibly thankful for his input.

"But how?" pointed out Tohvenen, "We cannot just approach them head-on and ask for assistance. It will make us look weak and the humans most likely to take advantage of that! Also, if we do successfully take down the Great Enemy, what will happen to us? Do we leave this world for them?"

Gorlan had an answer for that, "Calm, Fire Dragon, I have already thought of a possible step to secure our cooperation. We need to assist the Imperials in their battles and then evade their investigations. Between a direct or stealthy approach to assist them, we will then contact them. When the time is right, we then inform them of the Chaos' true objective. If they refuse to help, we then let them become wiped out by the enemy."

The Reaper also added, "This planet is no use to us anymore than a dead warrior. The Chaos have left their mark and we should take into consideration of the human's xenophobic and inquisitive organizations that would have this planet cleansed or destroyed for good. There is nothing we can do after that."

The Banshee was greatly impressed by the simplicity of his plan and his far-sighted predictions . The others murmured amongst each other until Uansi spoke out.

"But we still have no definitive idea of the Imperial's objective. Despite how linear the objective may be, they are as unpredictable as they think of us."

The Autarch thought through Gorlan's plan and the Scorpion's observation. After a few seconds she spoke.

"I approve Exarch Gorlan's plan and credit Exarch Uansi's concern. Very well, we shall formulate a plan to ensure the overall commander, at least, feels grateful for our timely interventions. I also believe we need to have at least capture a human soldier, however it may be, to be in interrogated. We learn the Imperial's true objective from this human and then release him, praying he would reveal our cooperative attitude to his commanders."

"What if he refuses to cooperate?" asked Lessenia.

"If he does not comply, then he will die. However, time is of the essence here. The more we linger, the more Ahriman gets closer to summon the monster."

The warriors nodded amongst each other and Lessenia felt there was indeed hope to thwart Ahriman's plans. The Autarch pressed a button on the holo-module and the projection zoomed back to Paradiso."

"From what we have gathered, the humans are heavily located all over Western Hemisphere," said the Autarch as she directed Paradiso's Western Hemisphere to the Exarches, "we shall track their movements and surprise the enemy wherever they may be. It would speed up the progress of the Imperials and we would then confer them our plans. I do pray their primary objective happens to coincide with ours. We will work independently to assist the Imperials all across the Hemisphere. Our timetable would be corresponded with the capture of our human prisoner. If he talks, we will open talks with the humans. If not, we leave this sector to ruin."

Then the Autarch focused on Lessenia, "Exarch Lessenia, I appoint you as the kidnapper of our human. You will be deployed in the continent of Benos, where reports of leading elements of the Imperials are centrally located. Take a prisoner and notify us; we will be present in the interrogation. If you have permission to kill, if necessary, but your focus remains on your prisoner, alive. If he resists, apply force. Collect your warriors, Exarch Lessenia, because you leave now."


	12. Chapter 12

This is Wolf's PoV of his encounter with Lessenia.

-Cheers,

Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 12

**Ambush**

Saint Agatha stood before them, her great spires overlooking the bleak surroundings. It was raised on a great hill where its great buildings and architecture was the only source of colonization and its steel-grey color seemed to blend the great mountains behead her. It stood for thousands of years, a shining beacon for the pilgrims who journeyed long and wide to venerate the shrine of Saint Agatha, heroine of the Adepta Sororitas. But that has changed. The malediction of Chaos fell upon the city, massacred and enslaved those who remained behind. The Chaos presence in Saint Agatha was abhorrent and the task of destroying them led to the esteemed sisters of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. Surrounded, the sisters and Canoness Magdalena held off waves of cultists and traitors. But it would only be a matter of time before the Chaos would annihilate the sisters and desecrate the shrine itself.

The air power of the Imperial Navy could not concentrate to support the siege, for other regiments across the hemisphere required its support. If Saint Agatha was successfully captured, then it offered a logistical advantage, since Saint Agatha had two very large rail-transport systems located a fifteen kilometers to the north and southeast. Navy pilots reported the railways led before the the capital city of Assumption, itself. Reports also emerged that other large-scaled cities had separate rail systems that were directed towards to the outskirts of Assumption. Success at Saint Agatha would secure the Imperial's last and gigantic offensive to the last stronghold of the Ruinous Powers. This herculean task to relieve the sisters was handed to the ground troops of the Emperor's Hammer. The city of Saint Agatha was officially a war zone.

* * *

First Platoon marched its way back to the front lines, after a couple of days of minor duties. Recovered and replenished with fresh grenadiers from other squads throughout the regiment, the men returned back to the front lines. Heading to the opposite directions, remnants of the Tenth Platoon fell back to the rear, nodding grimly to the First Platoon as they made their way to take their places. They went through five successive trenches lines before the platoon reached their section of the extended trench line. They settled in among the duckboards and steel trench shields that held the earth wall. They then sat and waited for new orders as the heavy bombardment of the siege pieces pounded its way to Saint Agatha. The earth rumbled around them as the enemy also threw in their ordnance, but not was successive to the Krieg.

Wolf looked amongst the fresh grenadiers in his squad. Since the weeks after landfall, Fifth Squad looked nearly unrecognizable. Only Helken and Zohlle remained, the rest were killed during high-risk night raids or skirmishes. The new ones were still very capable to replace the losses of Fifth Squad, so Wolf was not all concerned about the experience in the squad. The grenadier stood up and looked across cratered No Man's Land. It was a dismal sight for any guardsmen, but to the Korps it was just like they had planned. Barbed wire was laid in thick rows and the mines buried ahead of them. Now there was the waiting for the big push.

The First Line had settled in for a five days, which they formed their battle lines that formed oblique lines across the battlefield. The Fifth Regiment was positioned where they faced the huge city directly. There was no shortage of action, as constant night-raid missions were launched and artillery bombardments made every man in the trench tense. The artillery never stopped, but it was sure sign that it foreshadowed the big push to the city.

Wolf walked along the trench line, inspecting the sandbagged and steel embattlements along the wall. He took note that the weather was getting more gloomy and dreary, a sure sign of rainfall. When rain hit, then repairs would have be on stand-by incase of a collapse of a trench emplacement. As, he observed his surroundings as the men milled around him, the words of the woman rang fresh in his mind. Before he could displace the thought, there was a squawk in his helmet; it was Helken contacting him.

"Watchmaster, I have the Lieutenant on line."

"Understood Lance Corporal, I shall take it from here."

Wolf attuned to the correct dial in his vox piece and made in contact with Lieutenant Spaeyer.

"Lieutenant Spaeyer, Watchmaster of the Fifth Squad reporting for duty."

"Ah, Watchmaster Wolf. I need to speak with you in person for a special detail. Report to the Platoon command dugout immediately."

"Aye, Lieutenant, on my way."

Wolf ended the call and then contacted Helken, who was now the squad's second-in-command.

"Lance Corporal, Lieutenant Spaeyer requires me in the bunker. I shall return as soon as possible."

"Understood, Watchmaster."

Wolf then traveled through the intricate and endless trenches quickly until he made his way to the second trench line. It was where the command bunkers of each platoon were located. Wolf approached the low-rise bunker and opened the steel door. To his surprise, Captain Junker was present with the Lieutenant, who was overlooking a map on a table. Standing to was another grenadier in front of them. The insulated air was a little stifling, but Wolf ignored the heat of the earth and sandbagged complex. Maps were placed all over the room, mostly tracking the Korps' losses and gains over the past three days. They were mostly losses.

Wolf saluted to the Captain and Lieutenant and stood at attention.

"At ease, Watchmaster Wolf," said the Captain, who spoke in a hard and stony timber.

Wolf eased and Lieutenant motioned to come closer. Wolf stood a foot away from the table, where the Lieutenant made the introductions.

"Watchmaster Wolf, I have informed of the Captain that I have chosen you and Watchmaster Frenak to do a night reconnaissance mission."

Wolf nodded to Frenak, who was the leader of the Second Squad of Second Platoon, in acknowledgement. Spaeyer pointed the objective, which was stood at the south end of the No Man's Land, in between the Imperials and the Chaos. It was a forest, which offered some protection against the Chaos observers across No Man's Land. However, there was a chance he would be required to clear out any Chaos presence so the Korps could shift its lines around it.

"Our intelligence reports that there is a small pocket of enemy infantry stationed within the forest. It could be an observation post, but we have no little knowing of it. No flares will be launched, but we will fire a short barrage, because we want the enemy to believe there will be a general assault across the front."

Wolf processed the orders in his mind and waited for more details.

"Once the two of you have discovered a Chaos outpost, report to the heavy mortars the coordinates. Then take and hold the position and await three additional squads from the platoon. Operation is to commence at 0100 hours. Do you have any questions?"

"No sir," replied Wolf and Frenak.

"You both may return to your respected squads. Dismissed," said Spaeyer.

The two men saluted and turned around and left the bunker. Frenak made his way through a different set of trenches as Wolf traced his way back. All around him, the men of the company were dong mundane tasks to keep the time. Some had suffered from wounds the previous night during a night mission on the enemy lines. All Wolf could hear was the thunderous syncopation of artillery rounds being discharged. The day was already darkening, the sun slowing setting to the northwest. It would not be long before Wolf would have to climb over the trenches.

Wolf made it back to the squad who called them together and told them of the night recon. After giving them the time the operation starts, the men returned to their duties. Wolf took the time to maintain his hellgun and spoke the litanies. After that was done, Wolf decided to send two grenadier lance corporals, Golborg and Nilsson, to the forward observation post twenty yards inside No Man's Land. He peered over the trench and saw the objective, about one hundred or so yards ahead. Since it was beginning to get dark, that was when they sent men to No Man's Land.

Wolf closed his eyes and smelt the air, despite having a respirator on. He had not thought about the dream the past weeks en route to Saint Agatha. However, whenever his mind strayed to a fraction of it, he would remember the woman's words like it was part of the many litanies he had to recite. It will not be long until the push for Saint Agatha to begin. Wolf hoped this would be the chance for him to seek the Emperor's Absolution for his service and wandering thoughts.

* * *

The grenadiers were all suited for their night raid. Fortunately, there was no moon present that would cause some issues in the operation. Wolf wore his normal gear, but left behind any non-essentials, such as his haversack, behind. He also added additional grenades to his gear. His squad was suited in the same fashion, with additional specialized weaponry. Wolf conversed with Watchmaster Frenak on the squad-to-squad frequency when they reached the forest. "Once we both reach the forest's edge, we should have a few men on point to scout ahead."

"Aye, but we need to cover a lot of ground in the woods. We should be spread out, at least fifteen yards between our squads."

"Agreed, may the Emperor watch over you Watchmaster Frenak."

"Same to you, Watchmaster Wolf."

Wolf checked the time. Twenty seconds. The men of the Fifth Squad were lined up underground, where the Watchmaster took the lead in the forward observation post. The grim and determination set in; none of the men were nervous for the raid.

Ten seconds. Wolf tapped his fingers along the barrel of his hellgun.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

The bombardment of the heavy mortars commenced and Wolf hustled quickly across No Man's Land." The shells screamed over their heads and landed with distant explosions far ahead. The men scrambled across the cratered land, ignoring their safety across open ground. Wolf could only hear his own breathing and his footsteps across the ground and he looked to his right and saw from a distance Frenak's squad. They were at least halfway to the forest was when the barrage slowed down. The enemy from the other side sporadically fired back, although they were shooting away from then assault force. The grenadiers still took no chance of slowing their stride and continued onward.

At last, the great forest before them emerged. The tall and dark trees towered over Wolf's squad. Frenak joined him a few seconds later with his squad. The grenadiers could barely make each other out, thanks to their dark-colored greatcoats. They would have to be careful not to fire on each other.

"Watchmaster Frenak. Shall we proceed?" said Wolf, his breath a bit ragged.

"Aye, Watchmaster Wolf. I shall take the right flank. We shall keep in contact through squad vox."

"Understood, may the Emperor watch over you."

"You too, as well, Watchmaster Wolf."

The two men turned around and returned to their respective squads. Wolf knelt and conferred with his men.

"All right, we will spread out in line formation. I need to two point men with me to scout the area. Any volunteers?"

"I shall go, Watchmaster," announced the newcomer Lance Corporal Dasch, his voice eager but determined.

"I will go, too," answered Private First Class Kirsch, another new member to the squad.

Wolf nodded, "All right, you both know what to do. Do not engage the enemy until you both confer with me."

He turned to Helken.

"You are in charge of the unit until we have conferred sighting of the enemy. Once we spotted enemy, report to my position. But form then, you are on your own."

Helken briefly saluted, "Yes, Watchamster, I understand."

"Excellent. Let us go."

The three men moved ahead, their hellguns poised. The rest of the squad spread out evenly and entered the forest. Wolf, Dasch, and Kirsch moved steadily through the quiet forest. Wolf closely observed the uneven ground and saw a lot of tangled masses of branches. The tall and scattered trees around him made him feel cramped, which made Wolf wary of a potential ambush. Wearing the respirator also made him stiff when it came to turn his neck around. The ground softly crunched under his weight as he continued forward. The vox in his helmet chimed and Wolf took the call.

"Watchmaster, this is Frenak. I do not see anything through this blasted darkness. However, my men and I have not found anything of interest."

"Understood, I have not found anything either. Shall we call for a flare?"

"Aye, but we must remain hidden."

Wolf turned the frequency to Helken and told him to find someplace to hide when the flare illuminates the area. Helken confirmed his order and the watchmaster reported to a Heavy Mortar Section for a flare. The hissing of the flare was heard overhead and Wolf and the three men quickly took cover behind a fallen tree. The flare illuminated the entire forest, bathing it in warm, yellow light. Wolf risked a peek over the tree and saw nothing ahead of him, just trees and more ground to cover.

Wolf contacted Helken and the rest of the squad to crawl forward. He gestured his men forward and slowly crawled out of cover. The flare continued to pour light, but it would be a matter of time before it would go out. He made his way, inch-by-inch, and occasionally stopped and took a peek ahead.

The flare was then extinguished, but Wolf did not see any enemies ahead. This was something Wolf did not understand; where were they? They were halfway through the forest and by the time they would reach the end, they would have the fortified lines of the enemy directly in front of them. Wolf stood up and his men followed suit.

Wolf contacted Frenak, "Watchmaster, I do not see the enemy. I suspect an ambush."

"Aye, it is very strange. Still we must press on…wait."

Wolf stood his ground and listened intently to Frenak's change of tone.

"I thought I saw something…I guess not."

Wolf relaxed, but still had his doubts. He told Frenak to keep in contact and ended the call. Wolf continued on with the men. And then he heard a faint rustle break through the silence. It came to his left and he had his weapon trained in that direction. Dasch, on his left, steadily walked towards the source of the sound. Wolf contacted Helken.

"Be on your guard, I heard something on my left. Stay sharp."

Wolf aimed his weapon and searched for any physical presence. He realized there was nothing there, but he made a note to keep a close eye on the small details. And then, everything flashed before his eyes.

Wolf heard something around to his right, but before he could react he felt a presence emerge from behind. Through the darkness, Wolf could not see much, other then that the lithe figure had already killed Dasch and Kirsch without making a sound. They were beheaded by a clean swipe. Wolf brought his hellgun around and fired a few bursts of las. But it was not there. By the time he realized, he was suddenly tackled from his left and the two rolled on the uneven ground. He landed on the barrel of his heavy weapon and grunted when landed on it stomach first. The attacker was already on it knees and lunged itself on top of Wolf.

Wolf struggled when the figure straddled him and fought hand in hand. Using his strength, he pushed the figure off him and he unhooked his gun from the power cable. He now was free to use his hands and brought forth his sword. But the figure had already disappeared out of nowhere and Wolf constantly turned around in search of his attacker. The sounds and brightness of las discharges were heard in Frenak's direction.

"Watchmaster, we are being attacked!" reported Frenak through his ear.

"Is it Chaos?" replied Wolf, his breath short.

"They do not fight like this! Throne, these attackers are more efficient in closed-quarters than ever!"

"Aye, I'm under attack as well. Lost two men!"

Silence was heard after that.

"Frenak? Frenak!"

Wolf assumed the worst and contacted Helken.

"Helken, I made contact with an unknown attacker. Be on our guard, they might be more! Contact command, request reinforcements!"

"Aye, Watchmaster. Wait, what's that? Contact right and behind, sir!"

The sounds of discharges were heard from Wolf's rear and he saw the red discharges illuminating their surroundings. Wolf knew he had to return and had no choice, but to leave the remains of Dasch and Kirsch behind. He ran back as fast as he could, but the sounds of the discharges were not constant anymore. They were overrun and Wolf could not do anything about it.

He stopped in his tracks and saw the figure ahead. It ran straight towards him and Wolf charged forward, furious at the loss of his squad. Wolf dropped his blade at the last minute and pulled the weapon from its attacker. Using his strength, the attacker flew forward into the earth. Wolf then brought his blade and prepared to strike down. The figure recovered and dodged the strike in time. The figure swung the weapon's elongated handle and smashed it on Wolf's helmet. The impact of it was tremendous and Wolf fought back the pain in his head. Wolf drunkenly parried a lunge with his blade, but reposed himself enough to face his enemy.

Wolf's trained sight finally made a complete analysis of his attacker. It was tall, lithe, and wore white armor. The armor was different from the traitors, because of its quality and its form-fitting appearance. Wolf had no idea who this attacker was, even thought it was evident it was not Chaos. It sported a fiery red mane and its mask had a large gill with blood-red eyes. The two encircled each other, waiting for one to strike the first blow. They both attacked at the same time.

Wolf and the attacker launched a series of attacks on each other, but which no were able to have a full advantage of one another. Wolf had strength and size, but the figure obviously was more agile and had more reach. They struck at the same time, their blades making great noise and sound. Wolf and the figure looked into each others eyes, while they exerted all of their strength on each other. He disengaged and riposted, just like from his training days on Krieg. His breath was ragged and his muscles worn, but he would still want to avenge the death of squad and was determined to see this fight through.

The figure reposed and then launches a series of quick lunge attacks, which would change directions all over. Frantically, Wolf parried as much as he could, until one struck home under his right shoulder blade. Wolf grimaced in pain, but it was not deep. The warm feeling of blood seeped out, but it was nothing but a scratch to Wolf's eyes.

Then Wolf heard rustling around him. Looking around and to his shock, they were more of these mysterious attackers. They all looked the same, but Wolf quickly surmised that he was against the leader of this ambush. The figures did not engage; they knew this was between the human and their leader.

The grenadier brought his blade and attacked the leader. The leader brought forth its weapon and calmly parried the attacks of Wolf. Wolf parried an overhead chop from the attacker and launched his right boot into its chest. The figure landed backwards a couple of feet and the grenadier rushed forward. The figure was flat on its back, but managed to get on its feet and it heaved Wolf over. Wolf was taken back by the strength of the figure and before he knew he knew it, he was on its back on top of a tangled pile of branches. Wolf groaned when his lower neck impacted against into the las power box still attached to his back.

He slowly got up and then he realized he was under the grasp of the attack from behind. It locked his arms behind him and brought its lower leg on his knees. He was locked into position and struggled against the strong grip. However, Wolf would not give up, even though the Emperor's Absolution seemed at hand. He took advantage of his own movement and then swung his entire body behind the attacker. It happened so quickly that the opponent did not have enough time to react. Wolf then brought his entire strength forward in attempt to pin the opponent down. However, he did not realize there was a depression under his feet. When the two struggled, they fell down to the earth.

The attacker took advantage of the brief respite and was on top of Wolf. It pounded away at Wolf's face and Wolf could not get a full hold of it. He felt blood down his nose and his eyes squinted from the impacts of the punches. It then upholstered an unusual looking pistol and swung at his head, handle-first. The impact finally did it, and Wolf was silent and unconscious from the furious melee.

* * *

"Have we relieved word from Watchmasters?" asked Captain Junker, back in the trenches.

"No, sir, we have not heard from them. It has been nearly two hours since the attack," replied Spaeyer, who accompanied him.

"Then they have both have fallen," acknowledged Junker, "shame."


	13. Chapter 13

Note: Some of you may noticed that I took this chapter down for a few days. The reason was because I wanted to rehash some areas, because I have felt (and some others) that this was a sub-par chapter. I agreed with their views and so decided re-develop some areas of the chapter. Again, I apologize for the unexpected action, but it had to be done.

Cheers.

-Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 13:

**Dueling Questions**

"You have found your prisoner?" asked the Autarch, who was present in her chambers. She was no longer in her armor, but in a simple, close-fitting gown.

"Yes, my Autarch. He is in one of the hab-blocks, locked and sealed inside," replied Lessenia, "though he is still unconscious."

"I suppose he resisted against your attempts to take him alive," said Yulanic, though her statement seemed like a question.

"Yes," replied Lessenia," he did."

The Autarch nodded, "I hope he would awaken in time. We cannot wait for him while we have stalls our plans."

"I am positive it will not be long," reassured Lessenia, though inside she had no idea when he would wake up.

"Once he is up, bring to me. He will need to answer our questions and assumingly he question us," continued the Autarch.

"Understood, my Autarch, I will make sure he does so"

* * *

Wolf slowly opened his eyes and blinked several times. The pain in his head was still there, but it was faint. He reflexively massaged his head and was thankful that he still had his mask on and helmet. He looked around and saw stark white color all around. He quickly assessed the area; it was a large cell, with a panoramic window to his left. There was a double-door entrance, which had the look of a white slate. He stood up from the cot and stretched himself up. He still had his armor on and Wolf checked to see if he had his belt on. It was gone.

Wolf signed and looked out of the window. The sky was storm grey, but the sun still shone through the paneled windows. Below him were buildings he had not seen before during his service. It looked more a settlement, along clean and flawless. Colors of dull blue and bright yellow registered to Wolf that these were not Chaos. But then who were these people?

Wolf continued to look around the room, still puzzled about this affair. What do they want from me? What significance am I? He then also observed the weapon wound he sustained; the coat arm was bloodied but his right arm felt fine. Wolf moved his arm and observed healed arm in motion.

The door opened and Wolf turned around. Much to his shock he froze midway. The unknown figure was in a body suit that resembled the armor she was wearing. Tall and graceful, Wolf immediately struck dead. Her face was what really made Wolf's mind churn. Her almond-shaped face, the deep purple hair, her piercing eyes, and all of her facial features reminded Wolf of someone familiar. Her ears were elongated and Wolf realized that she was a xeno!

He tensed visibly, but the figure did not react to his posture. Although the female could not see his eyes, he squinted and scrutinized his captor. She, in turn, observed her prisoner. The female had her posture in contrapposto, her slender hands on her hips with a small sword attached to her thigh. She looked at him intently, searching something within the human.

"_She was the woman in my dreams!" _thought Wolf, which really made him relax a bit in revelation.

"Ah, human, you are awake. I am here to bring you to my leader. You are needed for questioning," said the captor, whose voice was an exact copy of the one in his dream.

Wolf did not move, but slowly nodded his head in assent.

"Also, I may remind you to not resort to violence to those around you. Should you resist, you will be killed. Am I being understood?"

_Better to kill me than question me_, thought the grenadier, who held back the words in his mouth. Again, he nodded dumbly and stayed mute, just like the Death Korps. The xeno walked behind Wolf and she pulled both of his wrists back and clamped them with some lock-cuff device. To his credit, he did not resist.

"You lead," said the xeno, who gestured the door. Wolf walked out of the room and into the hallway.

Lessenia carefully watched her prisoner as they both made their way to the Autarch's chambers. The tall human was very different from the past humans he had met and killed in the past. Perhaps it was his dour and simple attire that revealed to Lessenia. There was one thing that really made Lessenia's mind really inquisitive was the human's skull-like mask. It resembled exactly as the one in her dream, where death had spared her in order to suffer her failures. With that thought, Lessenia frowned and continued to direct the human to the Autarch's chambers.

After several minutes Lessenia told the human to stop, for they were about to enter the chambers of the Autarch. The Warlocks guarding the door then approached the pair. One lead in front and other fell behind the pair. Quickly, she looked into those eye ports in human's mask and spoke in a quiet, but very serious tone.

"We are about to present ourselves to my leader. Do not do anything foolish or I will gut you until all the blood remains inside you is spent. Are we clear?"

The human was silent, but after a few seconds of silence he nodded. Lessenia nodded and the Warlocks moved forward. The band proceeded through the chambers, where the Autarch sat on a chair, waiting for them. Lessenia turned his eyes and saw the fellow Exarches present. The looks on their faces were hard to read, because most of them had much resentment with the humans. Lessenia could not, but feel this way, although there was something different about this prisoner.

The band walked forward and faced before the Autarch and Farseer. Lessenia and the Warlocks bowed before her, the human remained still like a statue. The Autarch left from her chair and walked down the steps, the Farseer following close behind. The pair reached the bottom of the steps and walked towards the prisoner. She gestured to the Warlocks and Lessenia to stand a distance, but not too far should something go array.

Autarch slowly encircled the human. The Farseer stood in front and watched with interest. The human prisoner had his eyes locked forward, as if he paid no attention to the Autarch. Lessenia did not know if he was really looking around with his mask on; there was something about him that bothered him. The Exarches came over and formed a semi-circle around their prisoner.

The Autarch then stopped in her tracks and faced the masked human face to face.

"Human, do you know who I am? Whom I represent?" asked the Autarch, her tone neutral.

The human was silent, but turned his heady side-to-side. Strange, thought Lessenia because it was usually common knowledge for human soldiers to know the existence of their people, for they were considered _xeno_. Something was definitely strange and cold about this person.

"I am the Autarch, the leader of the Alaitoc warhost of the Eldar. Why are you on this planet?"

The impassive human stood still, but gave no answer. The Warlock approached in a threatening manner, his hand on the sword's pommel. The Warlock pulled the sword and put the blade at the neck of the human. The human did not move. Lessenia furrowed her brow in wonder. What is really going on in the head of this prisoner? He resembled to Lessenia like a walking corpse.

"Human, I can have you killed in a heartbeat," offered the Autarch. The human took note with a tilt of his head and then turned his attention forward. It was like talking to a wall. Lessenia could not recall any human who acted like this, even the hundreds they have interrogated and thousands they have killed. The Autarch waved her hand and the Warlock removed his sword and sheathed it, but still a grip on the pommel.

"Exarch Lessenia, please remove his cuff-locks," commanded the Autarch. Only then did the human turn his head in Lessenia's direction. She walked behind him and removed the locks. The human slowly brought his arms to his sides, still the statue he made himself of. Lessenia returned to her spot, with the human still staring at here.

"Farseer, what can you tell me about our guest?"

After a moment, the Farseer answered.

"My Autarch, the human's mind and direction is…difficult to comprehend. I sense a great deal of morbid submissiveness in him. It is as if he is ready to face and confront death. In a way, he does not seem…humane in anyway."

"I say we kill him," interjected Uansi, "what good does he do when he is silent and stiff like a blade?"

"Outward appearances can be deceiving, Exarch Uansi," replied the Autarch with a keen interest in her eyes, "we shall extract what he knows. You shall be return to your quarters, human. I pray that you will be more inclined to speak when I visit. Lessenia, return the human to his quarters. Everybody, to your duties."

Everyone in the room bowed and Lessenia cuffed his wrists again and led him out of the chamber. The Farseer and the Autarch watched as the pair left the chamber. The Autarch sighed and put her hand to her forehead, annoyed by the human's lack of response and the tiredness from the ongoing war.

"Humans, I cannot understand them, they are so different from one another. They are numerous of them and we are few in comparison. They think we are unpredictable as we make of them!" exclaimed the Autarch, showing her flustered expression in view.

The Farseer nodded, "Yes, but I sense something in that human. It is not of malice against us, unlike many, but rather he is confused and his thoughts are troubling him."

The Autarch furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"The human seemed to be a fatalistic individual. Although is calm before the face of death, there was a pinch of uncertainty within him. Perhaps he is starting to wonder and think about the value of his own life and others, regardless how expendable he may be."

The Autarch again thought about what the Farseer said. Humans were very unusual and strange. They were primitive, but yet merciless. But yet, fate may be entrusted to him for greater things. With that thought, the Autarch asked her troubling question.

"Could he be the one in Exarch Lessenia's dream? Would be play a role in our future struggle?"

The Farseer turned towards her and gave the eyes of affirmation.

"Yes, I very much believe so."

* * *

Wolf and Lessenia were alone in his cell. Lessenia unlocked the cuffs and stood at some distance away. Wolf walked all over the room and observed his surroundings yet again, evidently bored and uninterested. He then sat on the cot and looked at his boots. Lessenia stood by the entrance, wondering how she should approach the human. He was not a threatening presence since the surprise attack in forest, but rather he was docile and willing to obey commands. Lessenia followed close and pulled a chair close to him. The questions would have to begin in some sort.

"Human, why are you here on this planet?" asked Lessenia in a neutral voice.

No answer. Flustered and annoyed by his silence, Lessenia decided it was time to exert a little more force. She brought her blade and used her free hand to grasp his leather collar protector. The human stiffened, but did not resist to her action. She tilted his head and moved side-to-side. She wondered why this human was keen to protect his identity. The tip of the blade was pressed against his throat. Lessenia knew the risks of using such force, because of his dangerous and unknown nature. For all she knew, she had to be careful. Maybe goading would lower his defenses.

"Such an interesting image you struck. You are different from every kind of human I have met and killed in the past. You are silent, but no doubt powerful. But what are you really under that mask? An insecure whelp?"

_She is toying with me!_ Wolf decided to not pay attention and continued to ignore her. Still, seeing her face would remind of his dream, a figment of his imagination was actually manifested into reality! Although she was a xeno, Wolf was in no mood to harm her. In his mind, she resembled an allegorical figure that was a sensitive and upright character. Perhaps this xeno was like her, a role-player in his future. He knew he could not play the silent game any longer. He had questions on his mind and they could probably answer if he communicated with them.

Wolf raised his head and looked at the captor intently. The blade was still pressed against his neck and Wolf could feel the sharp point going through his leather collar protector.

"Well, human, are you going to say anything?"

Wolf decided it was time to lower his guard for the moment.

"You should have killed me before," replied Wolf, who felt the pressure of the sword tip sag.

Lessenia was taken back by the sheer lifelessness and grim tone of the human, despite the muffled disposition of his voice. She briefly lowered her guard, but sill had the point on his neck.

"Why do you wish to die?" asked Lessenia in a neutral tone.

"I am benign about my fate, for it has already been sealed."

"True, that goes with the majority of things relative to nature; especially as a soldier. But why do you feel it revolves around you?"

"Because I am expendable."

That response convinced Lessenia to lower her guard down. She sheathed and blade, but still kept in good reach of it. Curious, the Banshee sits next to him on the cot. Wolf does not protest.

"What is your name?" inquired Lessenia.

"Grenadier 510429-856472," answered Wolf, after a few moments.

"Your name is a number?" asked the surprised Banshee.

Wolf nodded, knowing that was not true.

"Is there a purpose for it?"

Wolf did not reply.

Lessenia wondered if a number replaced her own name, and how degrading it must be.

"You seem content with it, but that is irrelevant compared to actual purpose here. Tell me human, why is the Imperium on Paradiso?"

Wolf said nothing, aware of how many protocols of security would be destroyed if he mentioned the plans to a xeno. It would endanger additional lives and he would not risk it. Before he thought of anything else, Lessenia threw him on the hard floor and pinned him down with the blade's edge on his neck. Wolf realized she had effectively lost her patience with him.

"I have made it this far in this conversation, human! Do not force my hand and I will give you the death you have long desired! Again, why are you here on this planet?" demanded Lessenia loudly, her patience wearing thin on this human.

She pressed the blade deeper into his neck and Wolf felt the blade's edge slowly incising its way to his collar protector. Yet Wolf chose to remain silent. They stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one relaxing their position.

"So you will not tell me?" asked Lessenia, her tone icy.

Silence.

"You are impossible human. I cannot understand you. All of you humans are different. You, by far, are the strangest I have encountered. You refuse to tell me your real name, what are the intentions of your fellow humans, and yet you still play the quiet game! Come now, human, when will you stop playing? You are wasting my time! It would be easier to see you off dead than alive!"

With that being said Wolf latched his gloved hands on Lessenia's grip and brought it down close to his throat. Lessenia immediately tried to vie her hands free, but the strength of the human was greater than hers. Wolf did not bring down the blade, but kept it in place as Lessenia struggled with his mighty grip. Lessenia decided to relax, but Wolf was ready to bring it down.

"You are bluffing, you will not end your own life in front of me!" said Lessenia, aghast by his action.

Wolf said nothing.

She was not sure how to proceed in this standoff. If he really kills himself, then the Eldar's plans to deal with the Chaos presence will be delayed further. The truth had to come, sooner or later. Perhaps, she can arrange an unorthodox way to get the truth out of him. It may not be approved by some of her fellow Exarches, but it was probably the only way to root out the answers she sought.

Lessenia looked at him closely and then relaxed her grip. Wolf relaxed his grip slightly, but in his mind he knew he would not himself to the next world. Yet.

"Well human, if I cannot convince you conventionally, then I have a deal for you. I challenge you to a non-lethal duel. If you win, then I will tell what I know about our involvement on this planet. If I win, then you will tell about your involvement or I will kill you. Does that seem fair to you human?"

Wolf was silent, but in his mind he relished a chance to face her in combat again. He let go of the blade and looked hard at Lessenia.

"So be it."

* * *

In one of the deserted training centers, Lessenia had a selection of various training staffs. Wolf himself inspected the staffs, but did not find his these sparring weapons to his liking. Was this a joke this alien is playing at? His eyes continued down the row and back of these sparring staffs and quickly concluded that these weapons were not his kind. Still, he would have to pick one and use it to the very best.

Lessenia picked up a long sparring staff. She then tested and gripped the shaft, letting her hands feel through the weapon. It was lightweight but packed with power, and it resembled just like the Executioner. She then saw Wolf still pondering what staff to choose. He picked up a medium-sized staff and clumsily fumbled it in his gloved hands. It was too smooth in his mind, preferring the battle-worn grip of his bayonet he had always relied on. But this was not the time to reminisce. He had a duel to fight.

Lessenia wore her armor, but did not wear the mask. Wolf did not bother to take a piece off his clothing; it was much like another layer of skin to him. The pair walked to the training mat and faced each other twenty paces out. There was expansive space for the duel and the two stared each other hard before the duel began. Impulsively, Wolf began the duel by lowering his head to acknowledge his opponent and Lessenia mirrored his action. The two readied their staffs and encircled each other.

"There are only two rules, human, and they are simple: No killing and fight until one yields," said Lessenia as she readied her staff.

Wolf was silent, but in his mind those were relatively easy rules to follow. He concentrated on his approach to Lessenia, prepared to expunge the energy and anticipation in his legs. Just before he could lunge, Lessenia attacked. Wolf had no time to think what was happening when he felt a multiple hits impacted his wounded shoulder, head, and chest. He stumbled backwards, but retained his balance despite the heavy armor. The shoulder sprouted pain and he felt the blood being directed to the wound. "_So she knows my injury in and out_,_"_ thought Wolf.

Wolf readied his staff and lunged it like a rifle with a bayonet. Lessenia easily parried it with her staff, knocking the weapon sideways and launched a counter swipe on his head. Wolf ducked and redirected his staff at her legs to knock her off balance. Lessenia kicked the staff away and with a vicious counter-clockwise motion, she slammed her staff into the side of his head. Wolf fell back from the tremendous force and landed on his side. He readily got up, shook his head from the pain faced Lessenia again.

_"This is going to be a long duel", _realized Wolf as he prepared his staff again.

* * *

Of course, the sounds of the duel did not go unnoticed. A few warriors heard the sound of the duel nearby and saw the Banshee Exarch fighting the human prisoner. Word spread quickly and soon much of the Eldar present in the base went to see this moment. The Autarch, herself, was informed by one of her Warlocks and she set herself to the duel's location. Crowds of warriors piled in to the training hall to watch the fighting. As the Autarch made her presence known in training hall, the flurry of movement by the human and Lessenia forced the Autarch to watch the action. The fluid and flexible movement of the Banshee's attacks exciting to watch compared to the human's rigid and stiff defensive work. Occasionally the human would come out of his defense and attack, but Lessenia's defensive work was on par with her attacks.

The Autarch turned to a Warlock at her side and asked why the two were fighting. The Warlock shrugged and told her he did not know why. Intrigued and confused, the Autarch resumed her attention to the fighting. The only sound heard was the clang and bangs of the staffs and occasional panting from the pair. Whenever Lessenia struck the human, the crowd yelled encouragement. Whenever the human struck home, the crowd was silent, occasional groans and hisses were expressed. The Autarch carefully observed the two with her experienced eyes. The Farseer appeared behind her, his attention as well focused on the fight, but also on another matter at hand.

"This is quite something, my Autarch, I have never seen this kind of action before," admitted the Farseer.

"I agree, but I wonder what those two could be fighting about," nodded Yulanic.

"Hmm. The human is quite up to the challenge against Exarch Lessenia," observed the Farseer.

"That may seem so. But speed overcomes strength," pointed out the Autarch.

"Strength can outlast speed," countered the Farseer.

The Autarch briefly smiled at the friendly jest.

The duel has been going for nearly forty-five minutes. The duelists were beginning to feel the tiredness of their continuous struggle. It was a well-balanced match: Wolf's strength and size pit against Lessenia's speed and skill with the staff. The heat of the action was taking its toll on Wolf, whose movements were beginning to feel sluggish. Having armor and the greatcoat was obviously not suited for the heat of training, but Wolf refused to take it off. All over his torso and arms, the bruises were beginning to emerge and strain his ability to attack and defend against Lessenia's counterattacks. He made every respite count after a period of sparring to allow his body to recharge. Lessenia also was beginning to feel tired from this affair and she was determined to end it or succumb to the human's strength. Over time, the human's stiff movement to counteract the flurry of jabs and swipes of her attacks impressed her. What went beyond Wolf's combat prowess was his inhumane ability to express any pain and his deadly calm nature. Even though Lessenia could not see his face, she felt he was a concentrate and disciplined individual. How could he survive in that outfit and wear the mask all the time was beyond her.

Wolf, in turn, grew to respect his opponent. Her mastery of the staff made him look unrefined and stiff. Whenever there was a window of opportunity to strike, she took it and hardly her disciplined attacks were off target. Wolf was convinced he should have died in the forest that night, if it were not her following orders. There was a certain poetic mastery that she expressed, but for all Wolf cared, he was determined to not lose in front of him.

Lessenia decided to end this duel for good. She aimed it for his head and threw it almost perfectly parallel to the mat. Wolf managed to parry the staff away, taken back by her ability to throw so precisely. As soon as he reposed, Lessenia jab-kicked him right in the mask and was on top of him. Wolf let go off the staff in response and Lessenia pinned him down. The crowd cheered in Lessenia's success, but even uncanny things can occur in a deal. The pain what Wolf was feeling blew right into his head, struggling to focus his attention on his opponent, who had him pinned to the ground. Her lithe figure was deceiving, even with the body armor she wore.

She looked closely through Wolf's mask and whispered in a icy tone.

"Do you yield, human?"

Wolf was encumbered by the weight of his appearance and the opponent and struggled to give his answer.

"No…I do…not."

Annoyed, Lessenia punched into Wolf's head. The pain flared and the soreness of the bruises was felt all over. Again Wolf refused to acknowledge the pain and continued to vie away from Lessenia as his mind willed.

"I…will…not yield", replied Wolf, weak but firm with resolve.

Furious, Lessenia unleashed a series of blows to his face. Wolf faced the blows and felt the blood run down his nostrils, the bridge of his nose bruised against the contact of metal. With a grunt Wolf heaved Lessenia off of him and threw her down. Wolf clambered to one knee and was back on his feet again. Lessenia got up and saw Wolf unleash a vicious punch to her cuirass. She felt something crack in her chest, either it was the suit or one of her ribs. The crowd was no longer cheering, but silent. The Autarch was growing uneasy.

Lessenia rose up slowly to her feet and faced her opponent. The two were battered to the point that they looked like they emerged from a war. Both were breathing heavily, their limbs taught and fists clenched. Wolf bent his knees, reading to continue on fighting. Lessenia looked she was up and ready to springboard to Wolf. Their eyes were filled with deep concentration and focus, determining each one's strengths and weaknesses. It was the time for unarmed combat.

"By Khaine, is there no end to this?" thought the Autarch, who was very concerned of the unpredictability of the duel.

The two charged and attacked. A furious multitude of strikes, blocks, counter-strikes, and grappling captured the attention of everyone in the room. No one has even seen two opponents go at each other so wildly. The Autarch was slowly beginning to admire the human's ability to counteract anything Lessenia threw at him, while was impressed by Lessenia's continued drive to see this fight end. The cheers were beginning to sound off in the training hall.

There seemed to be no end to the fighting and Wolf was beginning to realize the tiredness was about to take over his body. Lessenia, as well, was beginning to succumb to the duel. Then i unimaginable happened.

Wolf had parried an elbow thrust from Lessenia and threw a punch at Lessenia's face. She blocked the punch and the one last effort to put down Wolf. She grabbed his head and drove it to her knee. Wolf also had his right fist in motion for her torso. They both made contact at the same time. The result was two unconscious warriors. Lessenia made contact with his head just when his fist crashed home into her torso. Wolf was knocked unconscious and fell on his back in a thump. Cheers were heard all over the hall, but were suppressed when Lessenia fell on the ground, breathing but unconscious from the ordeal and the pain from her cracked ribs.

The Autarch immediately went to the mat and checked the two as a murmuring crowd formed around the two warriors. Hil'da and a few Banshees carried Lessenia to the infirmary as Vaclai carried Wolf and another Avenger back to his quarters. Uansi was at Lessenia's side on her way to the infirmary. The Autarch ordered the crowd back to their respective duties and within a few moments the training hall was silent, the smell of sweat perforated the air.

The Farseer strode next to the Autarch, who was deep in thought. The Autarch said nothing as she replayed what had happened in the past. It was not like any friendly spar, but rather a duel to the death. Something was at stake there, but whatever it was it vanished as soon as the two knocked each other out.

The Autarch turned to the Farseer and asked in a joking manner, "Who do you think was the winner?"


	14. Chapter 14

Hello, readers! Thank you all for your patience. I apologize about the story's delay. Here we go! Please enjoy! I also completed the first chapter of a future Warhammer Fantasy tale. I hope this new project will take off shortly. Again, thank you and please R/R.

-Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 14: Ice Breaking

It only took a few days of recovery for the battered duelists. For Lessenia, her torso was bruised, but her armor took most of the impact of Wolf's punch. Wolf, however, had to be treated on the face, but the rest of his armor managed to ward off the worst of Lessenia's sparring. Wolf, of course, resisted when the Eldar physicians tried to pry his mask off, only when he was given a mild sedation. While the two were being tended, the Autarch continued to monitor the progress of the Imperials and Chaos from the Rangers and Scorpions.

The Autarch learned that the Imperials had failed in their first assault on the city of Saint Agatha and suffered heavy losses. The Northern and Southern armies were halted by more Chaos reinforcements, who had dropped from orbit through a Space Hulk. The biggest concern in the Autarch's mind was Ahriman's whereabouts. It has been awhile since the meeting with Ahriman and his silence was troubling her, because she had no idea about his actions. She feared that Alai'Kein would be awakened very soon and would cause the Chaos influence to influx across this system. It was a neck-to-neck fight on Paradiso, but the Avatar's presence would no doubt be the key to this battle.

* * *

The pain did not bother Wolf anymore. Having adorned the mask, armor, and greatcoat he felt secured within his shell. Although most of his abrasions were patched up, he embraced the raw healing of his wounds. Confined to his cell, the only thing he was able to do was to mope around its spacious interior. With nothing else in his mind, Wolf looked out of the large windowpane. He peered through the glass and observed the oncoming rain.

Wolf unconsciously made a fist on the windowpane. He wondered how his comrades were faring in the siege. He would hate to miss out the action and Wolf was not sure if his captors were going to silence him once their interrogations would end.

"Better than to be dead than to be alive with xenos," murmured Wolf.

"Perhaps," came a neutral reply behind Wolf.

Wolf turned around and saw the Eldar in his room. Why did I not hear her? Wondered She was in a bleach-bone form-fitting bodysuit that was part of her wargear. Her raven black hair was tied up into a bun and her eyes stared into Wolf's. Wolf suddenly tensed his entire body, just in case if this xeno brought any more unwelcoming surprises.

Lessenia smirked at the human's response. The whelp is all wound up and ready to attack at a blink of an eye. Clearly, he is no condition to fight. Still, she admired his tenacity, which most humans were. But she was here for another reason, and another fight was at the bottom of her things to do.

"Peace, human. I came here in peace," said Lessenia as she raised her hand to prove her point. Wolf still looked unconvinced, but relaxed his body to her gesture.

"See? No need to feel threatened," replied Lessenia as she walked closely to grenadier. Wolf backed away slightly, unaware how close his back was to the window.

"What do you want, xeno?" asked Wolf questioningly, but no confrontational tone reinforced his question. The xeno is coming forward. What is she doing?

"You are quite a fighter, human," said Lessenia slyly as she advanced him.

Wolf said nothing as he backed away. For the first time, he felt vulnerable against an enemy. It was then when he felt his back against the glass he was in stuck. She is trying to procure information from me, thought the entrapped grenadier. Should he play along?

"You would have defeated me easily," grimly admitted Wolf as he stood his ground.

"Perhaps, but what if said that I let you off with a slap on the wrist?" Wolf was silent.

"If you thought otherwise, then you were wrong. I had no intention for your death to occur in the beginning."

If Wolf expressed any sort of surprise, it was not shown, but remained silent. He had to see where this conversation would lead. He took a step forward to force Lessenia to halt in her tracks. She did not flinch. Rather a pathetic move on his part.

Lessenia was within a few inches of Wolf and peered into his facemask's eyeholes. They were tinted grey and Lessenia could not see anymore beyond the glass. Wolf did not even fidget in her gaze. Her ice blue conveyed perceptiveness and intensity, as she really would like to see what was under the mask. Wolf, to his credit, resisted the temptation to knock her down.

Lessenia cocked her head and stared intently at the human, while he himself returned with a cold stare. Wolf was cautious the Eldar's next move. She came with no weapons and her gesture of openness was a surprise to him. But Wolf knew to not take the simple things for granted, but she seemed unconcerned about his insular self. He turned around and faced the outside surroundings and coupled his hands behind his back. The clouds became bleak during his stay, for he knew the Traitorous Powers were on the move.

While he had rested, Wolf was racked by thoughts of exposing the dreams to the xeno. Could she be trusted? He was surprised of himself with the notion. Yet, there was something about her that connected this xeno to his dreams. Wolf closed his eyes as he contemplated his choice. He had to.

Lessenia joined him at his side and looked out of the window as well. She found herself willing to reveal her surreptitious reflections. Still, could he be trusted? He is not the type to reveal anything to anyone, but one could never know about the nature of the humans. She crossed her arms and observed the surroundings. She knew it would not be long before the Eldar would have to face the Ruinous Powers, with or without the humans.

Wolf decided to break the ice with a keen observation.

"The clouds look grim."

"Yes, human. They certainly do," acknowledged Lessenia.

"Aye," mumbled Wolf. He uncoupled his hands and continued to stare out of his surroundings. Still, he had an unsettling feeling of this xeno. Wolf took a deep breath and gave a small sigh. It was time. He failed to keep it suppressed.

"I came here on my own accord, human, if you had any suspicions," said Lessenia, whose tone returned to its serious demeanor.

"I see," replied Wolf, "then it is time."

"Time for what?"

"A story."

"About you?" questioned Lessenia, whose interest spiked, but kept her tone neutral.

Wolf turned and looked at her with indifference, with a hint of annoyance.

"Does it matter?"

* * *

Some time has been spent as the two warriors sat across from each other as Wolf told Lessenia of his dreams. Wolf rarely spoke, but when he did he explored the smallest nuances and minutia of his experiences. Lessenia was rapt with attention. She had underestimated the human's ability to be a telling communicator.

Lessenia absorbed every syllable of Wolf's speech. He covered his seemingly trivial stomach cramps to fantastical dreams. Courteous as he was, Lessenia withheld her questions until the end.

The most compelling aspect of this human's tale was Lessenia, herself. She was in his dreams. That was enough to convince Banshee that this cold human was in her dreams as well. With that thought, Wolf had completed his tale and the two sat in silence for a few moments. It was the longest Wolf had spoken in his existence, his throat felt dry and irritated. Wolf looked at Lessenia and saw the Banshee in a pensive trance.

"I realized you had not introduced yourself from the day we met," noted Wolf. Lessenia slowly came out of her cognitive-induced self and focused on the human.

"Yes, but you never spoke your name as well."

"I did."

"It was a long set of numbers."

"Was that not enough?"

"Maybe if you lift your mask to show me that you are really human?"

Wolf said nothing, but he felt the involuntary impulse to clench his fists. To his credit he did not. Lessenia sighed mentally. Despite his story, the human was still stubborn about his identity. Why does he keep doing this?

"Believe it or not, I, too, experienced a similar string of speculative dreams," said Lessenia, in attempt to part the barrier between them. No reaction was emitted from this peculiar human. She then began the tale of reckoning to her audience member. Lessenia decided to keep her first dream out of this conversation.

"I had a few dreams, as well. In my recent dream, you represented an image of death. You questioned me about my purpose in life, about fighting against the insurmountable odds stacked before me. Particularly about the Eldar," said Lessenia, who coupled her hands on her lap.

"You told me I brought shame to my people, that I will become the downfall of my people in the future. That was what you have told me. Like you, I was the verge of death. Everyone I knew died around me," continued Lessenia, with a hint of sentimentality in her voice.

Wolf sat in silence and absorbed Lessenia's monologue. Consumed within in his own thoughts and contemplated the comparative pointers of their dreams. Both were on the verge of dying and question each other's purpose in the fight and both presented each other a test of will and purpose. Such was war, to test the physical and mental of a warrior, regardless of experience.

The two warriors sat in silence for a few moments, basking in their own thoughtful rays.

"My name is Lessenia, Exarch of the Howling Banshee Aspect Warriors."

Wolf paused in silence and looked at his counterpart with neutrality. He felt no threat or wariness about this xeno. Perhaps she is a trustworthy and honorable in her word. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"Wolf," said the grenadier, stiff and indifferent.

"Honored to be acquainted, Wolf," acknowledged Lessenia, relieved to get something out of this insular human.

"I've never met your kind before," noted Wolf, "who are you?" Lessenia detected no contempt with this human's question, but instead found sincerity and honesty. What a curious being.

"I am an Eldar," answered Lessenia.

"Eldar?" asked Wolf, whose indifference prevented him from expanding the question.

"To be keep short, my people were only shadows of what we used to be for many millennia."

Wolf said nothing. There was certainly no lack of similarity between the two species. From the conversations he had heard from other Imperial Guardsmen, perhaps it would be only a matter of time before they too would become shadows of their existence. He shook his head at the thought. As grim as he was, he fought tooth and nail against those who threatened humanity. Even this xeno's species were considered a threat to humanity. It was Wolf intention to be mute, but he had already released the water from the valve.

Wolf stood up and went to the window. Lessenia joined him as well. The two observed the darkening clouds and occasional red illuminations in the sky. Unknowingly, the two warriors were here on Paradiso with more or less the same purpose: the eradication of Chaos.

"Chaos," said Wolf.

"Yes. Apparently this planet caught their defiled gaze."

Wolf was silent. He observed the slow patter of rain outside. He thought about his comrades in the trenches before the city of Saint Agatha. Have they taken the city? Wolf wished to be back with his comrades, who desired a worthy death for the Imperium's existence. However, he was stuck here, a prisoner of war. At least the two shared a synonymous objective on Paradiso.

"Are you going to let me go? Or kill me?" inquired Wolf, as he faced Lessenia. Lessenia pondered on the truth. While humans were considered enemies of the Eldar, there were times when they cooperated informally against a common enemy or shared a similar goal. Lessenia herself had cooperated with the humans once, but the humans easily distrusted her. She never held humans in high regard, like many of her kin, but this human was unlike the many she had seen in her lifetime.

"I do not know what will happen to you. That is up to my leader," said Lessenia truthfully.

Wolf said nothing. Lessenia turned away and headed towards the door. As she exited, she turned back to Wolf.

"Goodbye, Wolf."

Wolf said nothing. Lessenia took his silence as a goodbye as she made her leave. Her work was finished.

* * *

"How is our human doing?" asked the Autarch. Before her were her fellow Exarches and Farseer in her chambers, before the holo-lith display.

"From what I know, the Imperium's purpose on Paradiso is the similar to ours, "replied Lessenia, "the extermination of the Chaos presence."

Yulanic paused in contemplation. While reports confirmed the presence of the Imperium, she was initially mistaken of the size of their presence. Gargantuan defined their fleets in orbit. There was no doubt the Imperium was on a conquest of some sort, as they were keen to reclaim their lost worlds. Their disposition would be useful, thought the Autarch.

The Exarches waited for the Autarch's response, but the Autarch remained distracted by the reports presented by her warriors earlier. The Chaos are encroaching the Eastern Hemisphere of Paradiso, eager to consume and eradicate everything in their path. It would not be long until the Chaos discovered the Eldar's base of operations. Time was running out and it would not be long before Ahriman would awaken Alai'Kein.

Yulanic returned to the present and focused on her attention to her warriors.

"Full conflict is upon us, yet we approach a fork in the road," began Yulanic, "we are given a choice to either cooperate with the humans or face this grave threat alone." Silence followed as the Autarch continued her dialogue.

"This is the precarious situation. We can either side with the humans, if they wish to cooperate, or take the fight against Chaos ourselves. Each decision has its consequences. We lose time if we ally with the humans, but will have great numbers. We will be facing overwhelming odds if we try to tackle Alai'Kein ourselves, despite the amount of time saved. Chief Exarches, what shall it be?"

A moment passed before a hand was raised. It was Uansi.

"My Autarch, as much as I distrust the humans, I could see this alliance as a benefit to tackle a legendary threat as the rouge Avatar of Khaine. I say we side with the humans."

"I am willing to cooperate with the humans," acknowledge Gorlan.

"Nay, I shall die clean of taint from the Mon'Kieghs," announced Mor'ika of the Warp Spiders.

The list went down as the Exarches inputted their response. Tohvenen said nay. The Swooping Hawks Exarch voted yes, while the Shining Spears Exarch disapproved the proposed alliance. The shadowy Ranger Exarch Kjasanda voted no. Avenger Exarch Jirak was voted yes. Lessenia was the only one left, but it did not matter for the Autarch had yet to choose.

"I support human cooperation," declared Lessenia.

"Then it is done. We shall assist the humans against the Chaos powers," finalized Yulanic.

"What about the human prisoner?" asked Farseer. Lessenia unconsciously coupled her hands behind her back as she waited for the Autarch's decision

"The human revealed the reason why the Imperium came to Paradiso. Because of his insular and cold self, he does not possess any threat to us," declared Yulanic, "he shall be returned to the humans where we had first captured him. Now, everyone, gather around. It is time to wage war."

* * *

An hour passed and Lessenia returned to Wolf's chamber. Fully clad in her wargear and her glaive in her hand, she entered the room without preamble. Wolf stood up from his cot in surprise of her sudden change of attire and attitude. With the elongated blade in her hand, he predicted his imminent death. But when he turned his focus to her other hand, it was has utility belt with his coveted bayonet.

Lessenia presented his belt before him and Wolf took it without asking. Once he strapped the belt across, he unsheathed his blade and checked it. It gleamed before his eyes; the forge metal thirsted for enemies. He glided his hands along the blade's edge, which pleased him to feel the cutting-edge feeling along the blade. Wolf looked up at Lessenia, who nodded in assent.

"You are going back. We leave in a few moments," confirmed Lessenia.


	15. Chapter 15

Here comes the Siege of Saint Agatha! The next chapters will flip back in forth from Wolf and Lessenia, but I predict from the scale of the battle it will focus a little more on Wolf. But that does not mean the Eldar's impact will be overshadowed. Their importance will show in the future. Thank you all and please enjoy!

Cheers!

-Warmaster23

Chapter 15: Reinstatement

The Death Korps regiments regained their strength and, again, tried to attack the strong fortified perimeter of Saint Agatha. Hundreds of thousands of morbid soldiers trudged up the steep plateau of the city. Underneath, engineers burrowed underground to commit subterranean warfare, but a process of such magnitude can take many days. The Chaos-hold on Saint Agatha was very formidable, and while they repelled the Imperial Guard they besieged the Shrine of Saint Agatha. Canoness Preceptor Magdalena held firm against the onslaught of Chaos filth, but it would only be a matter of time before the halls of the shrine would be obliterated.

The gains were maid, but at a great cost. The Grenadier Company of the Fifth Siege Regiment charged into the fire of the carnage. Some managed to establish forward trenches, only twenty yards from the outermost perimeter of the Chaos lines. Remnants of other companies joined them and expanded the trenches parallel to the enemy. Behind the forward trenches, thousands of dead soldiers and many destroyed vehicles littered the ground. No one bothered to collect dead, and the smell of dead flesh perforated the battlefield. Such was the Death Korps' way of fighting: the sacrifice of long-term strategic goals for short-term gains.

* * *

It was the fourth evening of the Siege of Saint Agatha. After the failed reconnaissance of Watchmasters Wolf and Frenak, new squads were formed. After the re-organization, squads were destroyed, reformed, and shifted around after the failed frontal assaults on the city. Many of Wolf's brother-in-arms were killed or critically wounded. News from the northern and southern parts of the planet reported

No light was risked in the trenches of the newly formed Fifth squad. The men sat in makeshift trench as three grenadiers went out to No Man's Land to observe the enemy. These were hardened veterans from past campaigns. Some served on Vraks, Aluphine, or survived the initial crucible of the Crusade. They were no different from those who constituted the original Fifth Squad. Veteran Watchmaster Kurt observed the decimated city in front of him, with the usage of a periscope. Smoke billowed from the high, gothic buildings of the former glorious shrine-city. Decimated and stripped, the shrine-city was a far cry from its glorified self.

Kurt focused the periscope down to the Chaos lines. He saw banners, trophies, and piles of battlefield debris that formed into crude, but efficient fortifications. From the earlier debacle with the enemy, those who inhabited the trenches were mainly corrupted PDF guardsmen and petty heretics. Several Chaos Astartes were present among the corrupted host, no doubt leaders of the pack.

The Chaos took advantage of the arsenal of Saint Agatha and used whatever the PDF storehouses had to further bolster their battle. A tough nut to crack, thought Kurt, but nothing the Death Korps had not seen. He then stepped down from the trench step and saw a subdued, but brief flash of light to his right in the midst of the forest. It was the very same forest where the reconnaissance patrol many days ago was annihilated. Kurt shrugged to his disinterest; it was obvious he was not interested in a flash of light, unless it was a discharge from a weapon, then should he be focused.

Night had fallen. Light and noise discipline was observed the Imperial trenches, while the Chaos basked in the illumination of their hedonistic ways. Saint Agatha was envisioned as hell. Fires and smoke continued to pour out of the city and sounds of distant gunfire remained a soothing harmony to the Death Korps soldiers. Kurt rested alongside a makeshift trench wall, made up of a segmented metal hull of a Centaur. Sandbags were filled and laid on top of the surface. His squad was on alert for any enemy raiders and scouts. Other squads were dispersed far and wide along the field, but they were not strong enough to repel a concentrated Chaos force.

Kurt heard the sound of crunching earth to his right. A grenadier heard, too, the sound and joined Kurt at the right wall. Without a word, they aimed their hellguns at the dark surrounding. The other grenadier had an auspex, on low power to avoid enemy attention, and paused for any signs of life through the veil of darkness. The only sounds were the distant booms and cracks of gunfire in the distance and breathing of the two men.

Earth-crunching sounds were heard now and the auspex's reading blinked. The grenadiers aimed their hellguns and waited for the enemy. The display revealed one signature twenty meters ahead. Kurt was a little surprise, but he predicted that it could be a feint by the enemy. The sounds of crunching earth grew louder and Kurt's finger on the trigger tensed.

"Hold fire!" came a hoarse whisper. It was Low Gothic. Kurt risked a question to this anomaly.

"Who goes there, in the name of the Imperium?" answered Kurt, who remembered to keep noise discipline.

A slight pause, but the steps became louder in return. Kurt and the other grenadier readied their weapons. A slight silhouette of a figure emerged from the darkness. It had a helm very similar to those belonged to the grenadiers. The greatcoat he wore was very dark, but had the same color as the regiment's. Who was this person?

"Veteran Watchmaster Klaus of the Fifth Siege Regiment," came the voice.

"Watchmaster Klaus? The Watchmaster of the previous Fifth Squad?" Inquired Kurt, who relaxed his trigger finger.

"Aye, the very same. Are you in charge of this unit?" asked Wolf as he came upon the two grenadiers. He descended into the trench and face Kurt. A few grenadiers on guard briefly turned their heads to the newcomer, but returned their focus back to their posts.

"Yes sir, I am Watchmaster Kurt Fifth Squad, Grenadier Company, sir," replied Kurt as he saluted. Wolf returned crisply the salute.

"Well met, Watchmaster. How goes the siege? Are we getting closer to recapturing it?"

"Right this way, Watchmaster," gestured Kurt to the forward trench wall to the where the periscope was. Wolf headed towards the periscope and observed the enemy's positions. He scanned the ruined city and the Chaos lines ahead of them.

"Watchmaster, what has happened since my absence?"

"Three days ago, the Fifth and Eighty-Second Regiments launched an assault along with elements of the Thirty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Korps," explained Kurt, "the attack failed, but last night, the grenadiers maid some gains. Established a few fire trenches and observation posts twenty yards out of the Chaos lines. We have been waiting for a new assault to commence, since."

"Your squad had to be replaced completely, along with the late Watchmaster Frenak's squad," added Kurt lastly.

Wolf absorbed the information as he finished with the periscope. . He inhaled deeply the crisp and fresh air of night. He felt a lot of moisture all around, and he felt sure rain would come. Wolf coupled his hands behind his back and observed his new surroundings. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts and self-reflections. Kurt took notice of Wolf's body position.

"Sir?" Are you all right?"

"Yes, Watchmaster, just thinking about the current situation," said Wolf.

"Sir, if I may suggest, maybe you should report to Captain Junker. We have sent a runner already to inform him that there was a survivor of the failed reconnaissance mission."

Wolf retracted back into reality and turned to Kurt.

"Very well, Watchmaster."

* * *

"I must say, Watchmaster, that I am quite surprise to see back in one piece. The Emperor granted you a second chance," duly noted Captain Junker in the command bunker of the Grenadier Company. Junker was still in his dirty and sodden uniform, but he replaced his helm for an officer's cap.

"Yes sir," replied Wolf. He noticed that that Lieutenant Spaeyer was not present, but another man stood next to Junker, but physically looked different from platoon commander. He had the same rank as Spaeyer. Junker seemed to pluck Wolf's observation out of thin air.

"Lieutenant Spaeyer was critically wounded in the assault. The Quartermaster gave him the Emperor's Peace. In place of our former platoon commander, Lieutenant Damran will be your new commander."

Wolf turned to Damran and saluted. Damran returned the salute with crisp efficiency. Junker cleared his throat and continued.

"Watchmaster, I need to debrief you on what happened that night of the reconnaissance patrol. Of course, you are the only survivor of the ambush", said Junker who folded his hands on the small desk, "shall we begin?"

"Yes sir," nodded Wolf, "it began when a flare was shot over the forest. I led two men while the rest held their position. I remained in contact with the late Watchmaster Frenak. He noticed something on his end, but dismissed it. I then heard an ominous sound to my left. By the time I warned Frenak, he was under attack."

"Before I knew it, my fellow grenadiers were killed instantly by an unknown assailant. I attempted to warn the rest of my squad, but they succumbed to the enemy. I scuffled with assailant who appeared as the leader of the ambush. I was beaten and I was taken prisoner. They released me a few hours ago," finished Wolf.

"Prisoner? I was not aware that those defiled whelps bothered to apprehend prisoners," noted Captain Junker, as he scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"I admit, sir, that I was slightly surprised. I could not have been more prepared to embrace death."

"Well, it does not matter anymore," acknowledged Junker, as he stood up, "because we are about to attack the city very shortly." The captain handed a set of orders to Damran, who saluted and left the command bunker without a word.

"That was a set of orders which reinstated you, Watchmaster Klaus, as fit for duty to lead Fifth Squad. We are about to attack the city, again, at 0400 hours. It will begin in ten minutes. The entire Korps is going on the offensive, Watchmaster, and this time we will take this city for good," gritted Junker. Junker saluted and Wolf saluted back.

"May the Emperor watch over you, Watchmaster Klaus," said Junker, "may you find a worthy death this time."

"Aye, sir," replied Wolf, with morbid determination, "I look forward to it."

* * *

Wolf strode out of the command bunker, amidst the hectic activity of the company He procured some additional equipment from the platoon's storehouse, where equipment from deceased soldiers was held. He walked through the familiar trenches and observed the innumerable amount soldiers all around him. It was quiet in the trenches, because this was a surprise night assault on the Chaos lines. No artillery will fire until the assault starts. It was then he realized he had twisted the truth in the face of his commanding officer. Wolf shook his head in response, who told himself it was for the best for the Imperium. It would stay with him for some time and Wolf knew he would have to accept the repercussions. Not now, but he knows the truth will surface at some point. Perhaps he will not survive to face it, but it will shame him in his death. Wolf shook his head and continued his trek back to Fifth Squad.

The grenadiers all around him were preparing for the offensive. Though they suffered greatly a few days ago, they were as grim and determined for this venture. Ladders were in place along the trench walls; the checked their weapons and equipment. The grenades and other explosives were passed around as the engineers conducted last minute repairs on the centaurs. Orders were called out by the non-commissioned officers as the grenadiers assembled in their squads, ready to scale the ladders. Just like Vraks and Aluphine, thought Wolf.

Wolf felt the morbid determination encompass him; it was a comfortable feeling to be among with his comrades. War called to them and these men answered, bleak of their future, but nevertheless willing to sell their lives. He made his way through one of the few underground tunnels that led halfway into crater-hidden land between the front lines and the forward trenches. He then carefully crawled through the pockmarked terrain and made to back to where his new squad was.

The message was received by Fifth Squad and was ready to assail over the fire trench. Kurt saluted to Wolf, who was made subordinate leader to Wolf. He returned the salute and made one quick look over the trench wall to the enemy. The enemy appeared to have no idea a large-scale assault was about to take place. This was the time to the course of the siege. Wolf double-checked his hellgun's power supply, his blade, explosives, and the rest of his equipment. The members of the squad made sure their equipment was combat ready and awaited the command of their company officer. Wolf's fingers tapped the hellgun's barrel and waited patiently for the call.

"In life, war. In death, peace…" began Wolf.

"…In life, shame. In death, atonement," solemnly finished the rest of the squad. He was ready and so were they.

The vox crackled of Junker's voice.

"For the Imperium! In death, lies victory!" The whistles blew.

At the end of the last syllable, the artillery all across the lines exploded. Hundreds of ordnance of different kinds filled the sky while they prepared their descent on their destinations. From the small mortars to the mammoth Medusas, the Death Korps made absolutely sure they had the tools available to pulverize their foes. Flares were launched and the entire landscape was bathed in warm light. Wolf, his squad, and the other forward units threw themselves to the enemy. One hundred yards behind them, the remaining grenadiers and fresh guardsmen charged. Wolf heard ground-shattering explosions as artillery shells exploded ahead of them. Friendly fire was expected in these kinds of operations.

The enemy was caught off guard and Wolf heard barked commands and babbling. It would be too late for these cursed souls. Their lives were the Imperium's taking. When the squad was within five yards, they hurled grenades into the enemy. Claps of small explosions discharged and the enemy screamed as shrapnel shredded their bodies. Wolf and the others unleashed their hellguns into the traitors. Superheated las eviscerated their bodies and the smell of burnt flesh filled the trenches. Forty yards behind them, thousands of Death Korps troops continued their advance.

Fifth squad entered the trench and summarily executed any wounded. Wolf stepped on the neck of a traitor, whose legs were mangled from the blast and his arms scorched by the hellgun barrage. He then ordered to check in the dugouts, but found nothing of worth to report. Reports of eliminated enemy personnel filled the comms and Wolf activated his personal vox-caster. All around, the artillery shells focused further down the battlefield as some of the longer guns pounded Saint Agatha again. Elements of main grenadier forces trickled into the trenches and began to fill the trenches.

"Lieutenant Damran, Watchmaster Wolf of Fifth Squad reporting. We destroyed the enemy in this trench section and we await for the rest of the platoon."

"Confirmed Watchmaster. We are almost there," came the hoarse response of Damran.

Wolf turned the caster off and then ordered Kurt and two grenadiers to scout out as much as they could. Kurt acknowledged and hustled further up the battlefield. Wolf and the others made one last check on the enemy corpses and soon Damran entered the trench along the rest of the platoon. Senior Watchmasters gathered around the Lieutenant and Wolf and knelt in a huddle.

"Watchmasters, we now have orders to take Saint Agatha itself. I just received word of elements of other Guard regiments. They will be here to help us with the recapture of the city. But our focus is not on their support, because our focus is the heart of Saint Agatha itself. At the heart of this city is the shrine of Saint Agatha. High Command reported a contingent of Adepta Sororitas inside the annals of the shrine, against the defiled traitors."

Wolf processed the update. The Adepta Sororitas were here. He heard the famed and holy exploits of these honorable battle sisters, but never had he experienced alongside of these famed warriors. As it was an honor to fight alongside them, to reach their location would be a different story.

"Sir," questioned Watchmaster Kauffen of the Second Squad, "where are these embattled sisters?"

"All roads of Saint Agatha lead to the shrine itself," answered Damran as he stood up, "or follow where the fighting is thickest"

The rest of the Watchmasters stood up and prepared for Damran to give the final word. Wolf turned a brief glance to the ruins of the city. The shrine was to the beacon for the opposing sides. Behind him, armored vehicles and tanks groaned towards to the city. The rest of the regiment were now mobilized and the hammer of Emperor would be brought down on the Chaos-induced defenders.

"Men," finalized Damran, "may the Emperor watch over you. In death, lies victory."

Brisk, but crisp salutes were returned and the men withdrew to their respected units and barked out orders of advance. Wolf returned and saw Kurt and his grenadiers back with squad. The artillery continued their endless barrage and their impacts shook the earth like a hammer on a anvil. More men piled into the trenches and began to fan out towards the city. It was going to be one of the biggest battles Wolf has ever experienced. And it was only the beginning.

"What have you found?" asked Wolf.

"Sir, we discovered a series of redoubts surrounding the city. They have strengthened their lines and I believe they left purposely presented us a weak force in this sector. There was no doubt the enemy consolidated their forces within the city," answered Kurt.

"I see. But we need to knock out those redoubts," noted Wolf, "even with numbers on our side, those fortified embankments will slow us down."

"Aye sir, they will certainly be on their toes now."

"Then we have no time to lose! Fifth Squad, eyes front! We now enter the belly of the beast!" announced Wolf as he hefted his hellgun.

Unbeknownst to Wolf, he was being watched.


	16. Chapter 16

I apologize for a month's absence, everyone. Please enjoy this new chapter.

With Best Regards,

-warmater23

* * *

Chapter 16: Rubicon

Striding through the quagmire of trench warfare, Kandrovic led his entourage to the front lines. As reluctant to leave the struggle in space, he had to observe on-hand the siege of Saint Agatha. It was nearly dawn, three hours since the commencement of the attack. The First Line Korps had sent the Fifth and Twenty-First Regiments to Saint Agatha, while the Eighty-Eight and Sixty-Fourth Regiments held back in reserve. The manpower of this assault was enormous; over six hundred and fifty thousand men were committed. Along with the hundreds of artillery pieces set along the line, this assault showed the true capability of the Death Korps to newcomers.

The darkness was relived slowly by the emergence of the light blue sky. The fires of glowed like a sun in the distance and smoke continuously billowed into the atmosphere. The artillery continued to rain fire down on the city; the rhythmic beat of ear-blasting discharges filled the ears of every man in the line. The occasional crackles of small-arms fire were heard kilometers ahead. The Death Korps dead were brought back in troves and the dead men were stripped of their gear and prepared for mass burial. Most have been dead for days before the assault began and the smell of dead flesh impugned the atmosphere.

Kandrovic had stripped of his officer attire in suit for a practical battlefield appearance. He had a small, but powerful laspistol and a power sword at his side. The Warmaster wore a torso-fitting steel cuirass that had a small refractor generator imbedded in the breast. He wore olive green fatigues to supplement the need to forgo any regalia in the face of the enemy. There was no point to it on the battlefield. News reached to him days ago, the Mechanicus has entered the Epsilon sector and began to deploy their war machines across the sector. However, the Ordo Malleus was not present at this stage of the crusade.

The waiting men of the Eighty-Eight and Sixty-Fourth milled behind the ladders, but for those present in the face of the commander of all Imperial forces saluted crisply. Kandrovic was slightly mused of these faceless sentinels. As ever grim and dour they were, these men were one of the best the Imperium had to offer, even when some concerning rumors circulated among other regiments. Kandrovic stopped in front of one grey-clad guardsman who appeared to be the leader of this trench section.

"What is your rank, guardsman?" asked Kandrovic.

The guardsmen saluted, "Sir, First Lieutenant Granfal of the Eighth Platoon, Third Company of the Eighty-Eight Siege Regiment."

"Are your men ready to attack?" asked the Warmaster. He remembered to present a simple question to these soldiers. The answers were often to the point and sardonically poetic. He also remembered the Death Korps rarely shook hands.

"Aye, sir," replied Granfal, "we are ready to give ourselves wholly to the Imperium."

"Very good Lieutenant; May the Emperor watch over you and your men."

"Thank you, sir."

Kandrovic and his entourage continued through the fortified lines until he reached an earthwork shelter, which housed the commander of the Eighty-Eight Regiment, Colonel Westenbroek. Colonel Westenbroek was present outside of his bunker and stiffly saluted to Kandrovic. He was a wire of a man; Westenbroek appeared as if his armor was not sized up correctly. He was of average height and had his respirator along with the rest of his men.

"My lord Warmaster," introduced Westenbroek, who mad the sign of the Aquila, "an honor for me to be in your presence."

"Colonel Westenbroek, the honor is mine," replied Kandrovic who returned the gesture.

"Shall we observe from this position Warmaster?" asked the colonel who gestured to a tall earth rampart that functioned as an observation post.

"Aye, Colonel. Lead the way."

Following in the colonel's lead, Kandrovic and his entourage walked up a steep, earth incline that was reinforced by metal scraps from destroyed vehicles. Sandbags and metal plates reinforced the rampart, which was raised about one and three-quarter meters above ground. Sounds of distant gunfire crackled the air. Westenbroek presented Kandrovic a pair of powered holo-oculars and Kandrovic took a good look at the demolished city.

"How many of your troops are out there?"

"The combat strength of the Fifth and the Twenty-First Regiments tally to a little over five-hundred thousand men, sir. I have ten thousand grenadiers and twenty thousand supporting troops situated right in front of the city. However, my Warmaster, I expect the combined strength by the end of the day to go down by fifty thousand casualties. Perhaps more."

"The enemy is well-entrenched," noted Kandrovic. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Aye, my Warmaster. They are indeed. Reports from our forward units notes the enemy is pulling towards the center of the city, sir."

The shrine, thought Kandrovic. It would only be a matter of time before the Chaos would annihilate the embattled sisters. Time is of the essence. Kandrovic looked up and saw blazing stars fall from the sky. They descended with fire and saw tens of these stars impact into the ruined city.

"Astartes," muttered Kandrovic as he gave the oculars back to the colonel.

"Shall we continue the tour, sir?" asked Daethka, who also observed the spectacle with others in the redoubt.

"Not quite yet," pondered Kandrovic, who turned and faced an adjutant from his entourage, "any word of the Generals Maximilian and Dombroyzski? I remember the last message came from General Maximilian a few days ago before Saint Agatha. He was on the border of Gladben, about fifty kilometers away from Saint Agatha."

"I will check, sir," answered an adjutant, who had the Warmaster's portable vox machine. He turned to the messages recorded the past twenty-four hours. The adjutant turned off the device and reported to his Warmaster.

"No messages, sir."

"That is troubling, my Warmaster," said his senior aide-de-camp, Colonel Xand, who has his jaw and teeth replaced with bionics from a chainsword wound many years ago, "and also we have not heard of the Admiral for the past twenty-four hours. Only distorted garbles. Not even our best synthesizers could pierce the incoherence."

"I know, Marshal Xand," acknowledged Kandrovic, who wished his aide-de-camp did not mention the troubled thought. Something was wrong. Something was disrupting communications in this area. He also had no idea what was going on around the sector as well. The last report from the other battlegroups was nearly thirty-six hours ago. _Ares _reported they were holding, but suffered heavy casualties and many ships were critically damaged. _Aphrodite _reported the same as _Ares._

Kandrovic rubbed his chin in contemplation. Time was of the essence. The Canoness is on the brink of being overrun and his battlegroups were spread out where the Chaos can probe and attack them piecemeal. The Astartes fleets, reported Qanxi, engaged and disengaged periodically, but the Imperial fleets have suffered heavily since they absorbed the brunt of the attacks. He had to make a decision and to garner enough strength to last through the crusade.

"Here is my transmission to the Admiral once communication has been established. Mark me," said Kandrovic_, _"Hail _Ares _and _Aphrodite _as soon as contact has been established. I want situational reports as soon as they are available. That is all for what we can do now."

"As you wish, sir," acknowledged Xand.

The Warmaster looked at the battle before him and made his decision. He had to rely on Maximilian and Dombroyzski's intuitiveness to press on with the plan. There was nothing they could do until communications were established or there was a visual on the other Imperial armies. Kandrovic turned to Colonel Westenbroek, his intention clear and decisive.

"Colonel, order a general advance into the city. Send in the rest of this Korps. I want that city to be in our control as soon as possible!" ordered Kandrovic.

"By your command, Lord Warmaster," acknowledged the gaunt colonel, "it will be done."

* * *

In the southeastern section of Saint Agatha, amidst the smoking ruins, an Eldar strike team deployed. Emerging from the Webway portals, the hardened warriors prepared to make their contribution to humans. Lessenia and her band of warriors was mixed along with Uansi's Scorpions, Kjasanda's Rangers, and a mixed band of a select group of Dire Avengers and Guardians. Vaclai and the others deployed to the northwestern districts of the city. It was relatively quiet, but the stench and air of the Warp and Chaos filled every Eldar's senses.

Lessenia observed her surroundings and knew this city was in worse shape than the desolate town weeks ago. So much destruction as far as the eye can see. Buildings were razed to the ground and ruins settled nearly every square inch of Lessenia's location. They were a few dead humans nearby, but they were totally disfigured and disemboweled; the remains of the civilian population of the city. Lessenia observed this with an impassive demeanor.

The plan for the Eldar force was to eliminate several of the city's manufacturing depots. The city's raw materials were still being refined and munitions refitted for the corrupted human soldiers. The overall impact should force the Chaos forces to spread while the Imperials made headway to the city's center. Already she could hear the shrieking sounds of artillery shells to the northwest. She wondered why the Imperials always attacked with such bravado and never bothered to try a stealthier approach.

"The nearest supply depot is north of us. 100 meters. There is a small enemy outpost located 90 meters out. The area is dilapidated, which offers much cover," announced a ranger returning from reconnaissance. The operation was under Lessenia's control and this was her first time coordinating an offensive by herself.

"Thank you," acknowledged Lessenia, who then proceeded to give orders to the collective force.

"The Avengers and Guardians will focus on the center, while the Scorpions and my Banshees will hit their flanks. But once we eliminated the force, plant charges and immediately relocate to the rendezvous. Are your warriors ready, Exarch Hu'daon?"

Hu'daon, an Avenger Exarch, gave a silent nod in confirmation. Lessenia never meet this dour Avenger in person until he was assigned to her force. All she knew that this warrior was that he was one of Vaclai's trusted warriors, a veteran of many battles.

"Then it is done. Steel your hearts and minds, my sisters and brothers. Our victory here will pave way for a better future. For the craftworld!" cried Lessenia, who raised her glaive in gesture.

"For the craftworld!" responded the warriors, who returned the gesture with their raised weapons.

Lessenia turned to Uansi who nodded. The Banshees directed themselves to the left flank and the Scorpions to the right as the Hu'daon's force organized for the frontal assault. Lessenia gestured a hand command for her force to disperse in a skirmish formation. The Banshees obeyed with silence and Lessenia led her force through the ruins and dilapidated structures.

Sounds of artillery explosions and the soaring sounds of aircraft grew louder to the northwest. Lessenia stopped her Banshees to lay low among the rubble as Imperial aircraft screamed overhead. They had to be careful to not alert the human's attention. Lessenia realized time was definitely of the essence. For every second wasted, the closer Ahriman would resurrect Alai'Kein from his sleep. Lessenia temporarily imagined the human, Wolf, along with the thousands of humans at the city's doorstep. She quickly brushed away the thought as gathered her warriors and continued on the trek.

"This is Pathfinder Don'da, enemy in sight. Permission to engage, Exarch?" came the telepathic message from the lead ranger.

"Hold, Pathfinder, I could just see the encampment," responded Lessenia. Through the rubble curtain of the city's remains, there was the objective. It was one of many depots that mass-produced war materials for the planet's Imperial PDF and the surrounding human worlds. The large structure eclipsed the enemy camp below, and the steams of smoke billowed from the chimneystacks.

The Rangers were correct: there was an enemy outpost and a large contingent of them guarded the depot. It was a mix between corrupted human forces and heretics, though humans exceeded the number of heretics. Lessenia did not see a leader or champion leading the pack; her force could easily destroy this position and it will grant the Eldar time to move on to the next objective.

"Lessenia, my Scorpions are in position," reported Uansi, his tone excited about the upcoming battle. Lessenia mentally pictured her friend with his tightened finger on his chainsword's trigger.

"Exarch, my force is in position," announced Hu'daon, his voice hushed like a lap of water.

Lessenia peered to her left and saw Hu'daon's force in cover. She could not see Uansi's Scorpions clearly, but she did find a tint of green through the curtain of ruins.

"Exarch Hu'daon, prepare to move in on my command. Exarch Uansi, get ready, because you move immediately once I give the confirmation. Pathfinder Don'da, scout ahead, but do not go astray. Our work will be done shortly."

"As you command, Exarch."

Don'da, Hu'daon, and Uansi acknowledged her commands. The enemy was still unaware of the Eldar's presence. Out of thin air, sounds of thunderous gunfire nearby filled the ears of every Eldar and Chaos. Lessenia retracted the sound back into her astute memory; it was the sound of Bolters. The Space Marines were here. In response to the noise, the majority of enemy formed up and hustled towards the distinct sounds. There were about twenty or so soldiers left behind.

With the Space Marines present, the Exarch knew they had to be swift in this operation for a chance to evade the detection of the newcomers. Past experience reminded her to not engage the marines unless it was an absolute necessity. Lessenia turned to her Banshees and nodded. She then gave the telepathic command to her warriors.

"Go."

With that word, all of the Eldar converged on the position. This was not stealth mission, so they had to hit hard and fast. Hu'daon's force made first contact when they opened fire on the enemy. The enemy were taken by surprise and scrambled to assume position. Once they were fixated in their defensive stance, the sounds of the Scorpions chainsword's filled the air. Then the Banshees quickly closed the distance between them and the enemy. It was needless to say that it was a massacre.

Within five minutes, it was all over. No casualties were sustained and the enemy dead at their feet. Lessenia scanned the area around her as Hu'daon and a few Avengers emerged from the depot and gestured her to clear the area. Within a moment, a flash of blue plasma illuminated inside the structure as it came crashing down. Smoke filled the encompassing area, but no one seemed fazed by it. Lessenia decided to inquire about the Pathfinder's whereabouts.

"Pathfinder how goes the reconnaissance?"

"Exarch Lessenia," reported Pathfinder Don'da, "I have located the next depot. It is about two hundred yards northeast of our current position. Be warned, the Space Marines are present in the area. They are currently rooting out enemy patrols and securing important objectives."

"I see. Thank you Pathfinder," answered Lessenia, "where are you now?"

"Exarch Lessenia, I am currently situated in one of the buildings overlooking our next objective."

"Understood. I shall be there shortly," acknowledged Lessenia, "warriors prepare for battle. This time we face a different opponent."

* * *

To the west, the antithesis of the Eldar's attack was in fruition. By the Warmaster's command, the Death Korps grimly trudged their way into Saint Agatha. Saint Agatha's walls were peppered to the core, but some of the lead grenadier units made and established beachheads. Casualties piled up and it became a game of body count. That was before the Warmaster himself ordered the general advance of the Korps.

The company commanders reported jammed communications throughout the regiments, so the men relied on squad-to squad channels. There were moments when the channels became so inefficient that they had to rely on bodies to deliver messages and orders. Word of mouth spread from the regimental commanders to the Watchmasters: the general advance was ordered for the dour men.

"Form up, Death Korps!" cried Damran, "prepare for a general assault!"

The grenadiers silently organized in their respected squads. The Grenadier Company lost two hundred fifty six men during the past thirty-six hours. Some of the company's squads were wiped out and severely mauled to the point where its survivors were used to strengthen other squads. Wolf, fortunately, had no losses to account for except for minor wounds and a few close calls. Behind them, thousands of other Death Korps were also busy for what seemed to be the final push to the city.

The grenadiers had created a fortified line at the main breach of Saint Agatha's walls. The enemy harried them with mortar shells and raids, but the men held firm. Now it was their turn. The city was no place for the Centaur assault vehicles, but the men relished the opportunity for intense urban combat. There will be no mercy or respite for the enemy. The hardened men will neither retreat or surrender in the face of the enemy. This will be down to the last man.

Wolf and his squad crouched and waited for the command. Wolf checked his hellgun's power supply along with the rest of his squad. Few grenadiers carried handheld ammunition crates to provide extra grenades and explosives for men and Wolf took a handful of melta bombs and frag grenades. The atmosphere was quiet; Death Korps artillery would coordinate with the infantry for a short period of time. The only sounds heard were the distant booms and discharges deep within the city.

Wolf settled into a ready on the rubble-strewn ground and prepared to scale the wall of quagmire. Destroyed bits of ferrocrete shifted under his feet. His squad was ready as well and rest of the Fifth and Twenty-First waited for the final word from command. Then it came.

"In death lies victory! Forward!" came Captain Junker's command through this command squad's vox.

Yelling, Wolf and his comrades scaled the wall and charged through the city. Wolf ran as fast as he could as his boots pounded the earth. Ahead of the force was a fork in the road, but Death Korps had split apart and went to different districts of the city. Wolf, his squad, and hundreds of the vanguard focused on the center road that led to Saint Agatha's shrine.

"Onward, Fifth Squad!" said Wolf as he gestured his men to follow. The force continued to push forward until small arms fire emerged from the buildings. Wolf immediately hunkered to the closest form of protection and began to lay suppressing fire. Squads fanned out took positions, but strove to continue the momentum of the attack. The sounds of war echoed throughout the city as Death Korps units found themselves in their own battles.

"Flamers, move up!" ordered an unknown Death Korps. Units of flamer units emerged from the masses and advanced their way to the enemy. Few were put down by stubber rounds and las discharges. One was immolated when an unlucky shot hit the fuselage and engulfed a few of his companions. Wolf and his squad emerged from cover and gave covering fire to the flamers. The nearest enemy was a sandbagged emplacement with a Heavy Bolter out of a first floor window, about thirty yards ahead of Wolf's position.

"Give those flamers cover fire!" ordered Wolf as he displaced from his position.

Wolf took aim of his hellgun and fired multiple high-powered shots. He had to be careful of the hellgun's capacity to overheat under duress or the barrel will melt under his hands. Even his gloves cannot protect him of the metal's heat. His squad followed his example as they took a few shots and advanced forward.

Without preamble, a two-man heavy flamer unit emerged behind Wolf and began to set a screen of fire in front of the position. Fifth Squad followed the team while maintaining their distance in case of an imminent gulf of fire. The flamer team grimly advanced and poured promethium into the position. Screams and cries emerged as the liquid fire saturated their bodies. Wolf impassively ignored the carnage and advanced through a dilapidated building, the first of many before the shrine itself. Wolf checked his surroundings and then gestured Kurt to him.

"Watchmaster Kurt, take half of the squad and clear the upper levels. I will clear the lower levels of this building and will rendezvous on the fifth floor. Be on your guard and may you find a purposeful death."

"Yes, sir! You five, on me!" replied Kurt as he lead the troop up the stairs. It was going to be all or nothing for the Imperials at this point of this pitched battle. The die is cast.


	17. Chapter 17

Please enjoy this new addition. Thank you for your time and attention.

-Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 17: The Shrine/Premonitions

The Shrine of Saint Agatha was a sight to behold. It was by far the Ecclesiarchy's gem in the Segmentum Tempestus. It was established a couple of years after Saint Agatha's death. The year the plan for the shrine was proposed, the Ecclesiarch of the Imperial Cult beautified Saint Agatha. That was nearly four hundred years ago, but the stream of pilgrims was unending. The shrine itself was a marvel of Imperial architecture: its Gothic towers stood high as tall as a Warhound Titan and its nave as long as the lance of a battleship. The shrine was more of a basilica than a shrine.

Now it has changed: the glorious towers were heavily damaged from the Chaos attacks and its insatiable desire to consume. The surrounding area of the shrine was war-torn beyond imaginable. The broken bodies, immolated vehicles, pools of fire, cartridges, blood, and served as evidence of absolute destruction. It was well into the afternoon, but the ominous clouds to east forebode a great reckoning of evil. It would seem nothing would survive the onslaught of the Ruinous Powers before the shrine, but it would not break the indomitable faith of Canoness Preceptor Magdalena.

One thousands sisters occupied and transformed the shrine and its surroundings a formidable base. An entire preceptory landed en masse and its five commanderies formed a circle around the shrine. Several Penitent Engines of the Ordo Hereticus protected the nave and inner sanctum as the Rhino-patterned vehicles served as mobile redoubts against the enemy. That was a week ago, and now the strength of the mighty preceptor was down to battle-worn six hundred sixty sisters and many support vehicles immobilized or destroyed.

Canoness Preceptor Magdalena gazed upon the dead sisters who were being collected by the surviving warriors in the shrine's nave, which was cleared for battlefield care. Clad in master-crafted and beautifully decorated armor of black and red, Magdalena was a force of reckoning. Tucked at right thigh was her inferno pistol, a miniaturized version of the melta gun. It was one of the deadliest kinds of weaponry in the Imperial arsenal, due to its practical size and its unbelievable damage. If one came into contact with the contents, a pool of molten slag would be the result. She also had in her possession a master-crafted power sword at her left and a small refractor field disguised as an Aquila-stamped

The deceased were gathered up from the past incursions and sorted by the commandery they belonged to. An hour ago, Magdalena had just lost twenty sisters of the Immaculata and Notre Dame Commanderies. Most had died during the battle while others died from their wounds. The contingent of the Orders Hospitaller worked overtime to ensure every wounded sister had the chance to return to the front lines. It has not always been the case this far, as many sisters were grievously wounded for combat. The preceptory's combat strength was dwindling, but Magdalena would not give the enemy a chance to desecrate the sacred halls of the shrine.

* * *

The bodies were laid individuals body bags with the fleur-de-lis printed on it. All of the deceased had their armor and weapons, but the Hospitaller cleaned the bodies for the fallen's journey before the Emperor. Magdalena stood over the fallen bodies as the senior representative of Orders Dialogus gave the Rite to The Fallen in High Gothic.

Surrounding the Canoness were the Canoness Commanders and an honor guard of Superiors, who stood in respectful silence. Once the Dialogus was complete, Magdalena sprayed sprinkles of the Holy Water of the Emperor over the dead and then motioned the thurible to purify the deceased spirit. Once she completed, the representative gave the closing rite and the body bags were zipped up carefully by two of the honor guard.

Magdalena continued to watch as menials carried the bodies away from the carnage to the northern courtyard, where graves were dug and marked for identification. The brazier on her back still billowed and burned incense in the spacious nave. She closed her eyes and exhaled all the emotions buried inside. The past days have been heavy for her and her warriors. The participants left to return to their duties, except for her honor guard who stood faithfully behind her.

"My Canoness, are you all right?" inquired Celestian Superior Dido, head of the honor guard and adjutant to Magdalena.

Magdalena opened her eyes and turned to Dido with determined eyes.

"I am all right, Celestian Dido. The dead no longer need to suffer," said Magdalena.

"They will be remembered for their service to the Emperor. They will, because we will never forget, my Canoness."

"Yes," said Magdalena, who snapped back to her old self, "and we will not fail them in return." Without another word, she turned around and headed outside, with the honor guard at her heels. When she stepped out, she surveyed the scene before her. The menials of the preceptory to pushed and moved rubble fragments to create earthworks for the sisters. The sisters before here were the Dolorosa commandrey, one of five commanderies that made up her Preceptory. The Canoness Commander Riesch, who was overseeing the menial's efforts, had her back against Magdalena, who approached behind her.

Without warning, Riesch turned around and immediately made the sign of the Aquila in Magdalena's presence.

"Forgive me, my Canoness…"began Riesch.

"Please do not hamper yourself with formality Commander Riesch," politely interjected Magdalena, "it will serve us no practical purpose on the battlefield."

Riesch obeyed and stood tall before the Canoness. She was a little taller than Magdalena, about 1.81 meters to 1.75 meters. Her dirtied blonde hair was back to a bun, which differed from the cropped hair of the order's majority. Her adorned armor was dented and scratched to the fiber that held it together, but it still emanated a glorious past from previous wearers. Riesch's master-crafted bolter hung from a sling across her shoulder as she held her helm under her left arm. During her years as Canoness, Magdalena never saw Riesch crack a smile of some sort. Perhaps the years of conflict had ebbed away what feelings she had previously before joining the order.

Riesch gestured to her surroundings before Magdalena, "We are currently rebuilding what remains of our defensive perimeter, but it will not last once the enemy return."

Magdalena joined the commander at her side and observed the battlefield. The defensive perimeter was, in terms of radial distance, fifty meters from the shrine. Ahead twenty-five meters of the defensive perimeter was the center of Saint Agatha, a destroyed marble fountain that depicted Saint Agatha with the head of Djorn in her hand. Bodies of burnt heretics still burned, along with the Chaos marines, but the Sister's abundant supply of Promethium was severely reduced from the past days of intense combat.

"We lost twenty more sisters from Immaculata and Notre," shared the Canoness.

"Blood of the Emperor, " swore Riesch as she grimaced, "that makes it six hundred sixty. And we just buried ten sisters from my own command yesterday."

"For now, Commander Riesch, we can breathe a bit now. We have not been attacked for over an hour, which means our allies are close."

"I do hear the sounds of bolters emanating closer to our position," agreed Riesch, "but it is difficult to determine if they are Astartes or Chaos marines." As she spoke, the sounds of war encroached from the west. All the sisters in the area perked up at the intense volume of explosions, gunfire, and yells. A cloud of smoke emerged from behind the cluster of buildings that encircled the central plaza.

At the same time, more gunfire emerged from the southeast and artillery rounds screamed from the sky and exploded in the central plaza. The sisters nearby the earthworks took cover as the barrage slammed home and shook the earth. Riesch and Magdalena stood where they were and impassively observed.

"It has to be the Guard," noted Riesch, who was marginally relieved.

"You are right Commander," acknowledged a wary Magdalena, "but they are firing frighteningly close to our position."

"Incoming!" yelled a sister as the sound of the air screaming grew the loudest of all. Riesch and Magdalena took cover behind a pile of rubble nearby as the earth shook tenfold. The sisters scrambled for cover as the shells rained upon them. Some were hit by the friendly fire as they raced to find available protection.

"Contact those Guard regiments to cease fire! They are firing right on top of us!" ordered Magdalena to a Superior of her honor guard.

"My Canoness, we cannot raise them; our communications our jammed," answered Riesch, "we are going to have to sit this through. You know the Guard and their battle doctrine: pummel the enemy to bits before going in, only to find you have to get your hands dirty anyway."

"Enough, Sister Commander, we should be fortunate that they are nearby to assist us," reminded Magdalena, as a shell exploded five meters ahead of them as showers of dust and rubble landed beyond its blast radius.

"I am curious where the Astartes are. An objective as signifgant as the Shrine is not something to be overlooked by the Angels of Death," noted Riesch.

"They will come, Sister Commander, they will."

* * *

After a few moments, the shelling ceased and the sisters immediately began to ten to the wounded and bury the dead. Riesch was furious that their hard work of establishing new earthworks came to naught by the wanton barrage of their allies, but held her annoyance in check as she oversaw the construction again. Magdalena continued to move through the front lines and observed any sort of activity across the plaza. The sounds of Guar in combat continued on, but Magdalena could tell progress was slow.

A Superior nearby then saw something strange to the southwest. Magdalena saw it too. Through the atmospheric residue of dust and smoke, her eyes saw armored forms emerging from the haphazard buildings. She turned to the Superior and nodded and the warrior ran back to the Shrine to alert the encampment. Magdalena fixed her gaze on these incoming armored forms and slowly realized they were not Chaos. They were Astartes.

Through with her meeting with the Astartes of the Iron Swords and Vanquishers, Magdalena learned of their purpose on Saint Agatha. They were not as many as Magdalena expected, but it was in a way she did expect a few to arrive. There were four tactical squads, two of them were Vanquishers and the rest were Iron Swords. The rest of their respective strike forces were currently defending important Imperial landmarks until the Guard's arrival.

The shrine itself was a secondary objective to both Chapters as their primary focus was the Chaos presence in this sacred city. Still, it is good to have a strong force like the Astartes by your side thought Magdalena as she sent a silent prayer of thanks to the God-Emperor. With their numbers, the chances of defending Saint Agatha until the Guard arrived were better. But to her mind, there was something else going on in Paradiso that she cannot lay a figure on.

Before general vox channels were cut off, the Canoness heard about the surprise attacks by additional Chaos forces in the sector. With the arrival of three Chaos factions, this sector held a great value to them. Magdalena concluded that Paradiso was not just a planet to take over, but also a foundation where Chaos could dominate a sector so close to the Segmentum Solar. She put these hints together and realized that it was the possibility of the beginning of a dreaded Chaos incursion, if not the beginning of an apocalyptic Black Crusade.

* * *

To the southwestern corner of the city, Lessenia and her band of warriors continued to make progress. They have destroyed three depots, but each step became progressively more difficult with the Space Marine present. They did not risk direct action, as one of the mission parameters was to withdraw back to the Webway if their presence of compromised. From the hours that have passed, she received news that Vaclai's forces destroyed two depots and were about to shift their focus to the east. Things were working well into the Eldar's favor, but it could easily crash if their presence was discovered.

Working as discreetly as possible, Lessenia and her force weaved through one of the many dilapidated streets. Already they had avoided three Space Marine and two Chaos patrols and once observed a Space Marine and Chaos skirmish. They escaped a suspicious Space Marine patrol by the skin of their teeth once already, and it was by the grace of Isha that they were no discovered.

The Rangers led the way to their next and final destination. It was located about ten meters away from the central plaza, where the heart of the destruction was. It was so close that Lessenia and her group felt the entire ground being pounded by human artillery. At her ten o'clock was the massive structure dedicated to the patron saint of the city. Lessenia was mildly impressed by the massive structure, but of course did not have the aesthetic of a human. She admitted she was surprised that the landmark survived the crucible of Chaos. Ignoring these irrelevant thoughts, Lessenia turned her focus back to the Rangers at point.

Pathfinder Don'da suddenly stopped in his tracks ahead and party stopped in his tracks. Don'da then signaled his squad to scout ahead and the rangers went to their separate ways. He turned back to Lessenia and subtly gestured her to come forward. Lessenia crouch-walked to the Pathfinder and joined him by his side.

"What is it, Don'da?"

"Objective ahead, Exarch Lessenia. Sixty-seven meters."

"Lead on," quickly surmised Lessenia.

She gestured Hil'da to follow her and gave the battle-sign to hold position to her force. The trio moved up through the dilapidated boulevard as Don'da and it was not long before Don'da halted and activated his personal cloaking device. Lessenia could barely make out the contour of his cloak as Don'da made his way up a pile of rubble that was part of a second floor of a building.

As Don'da surveyed the area, Lessenia and Hil'da monitored their surrounding and waited for Don'da to return. They had to be cautious at this point of the raid because they were in heart of enemy itself. They would be no quick escape if they would get caught; if they did, then their hopes of defeating Ahriman would be very difficult. Within a few moments, Don'da uncloaked and returned quietly back to Lessenia. His expression was of a slight concern to the Banshee Exarch, because it seemed to foreshadow what was beyond there.

Without a word, Lessenia led the group up the doodad of debris. As soon as Lessenia crouched behind a damaged facade, she took her helmet off. She felt the crisp cool air, along with dank smell of war overwhelming her senses. Lessenia peeked around the corner of a damaged pillar and saw what Don'da was concerned about.

The objective was there; about thirty meters ahead was a small and quaint stone structure that seemed to have little or no significance at all to the Eldar. Surprisingly, it seemed to be the only building intact as far as Lessenia could see. Around it was pockmarked by deep crater holes and Lessenia did not understand at first what was the meaning behind Don'da's expression. But after a moment she realized she had to look what was around rather than what was presented before her.

"Pathfinder, is the enemy present around us?"

"According to my scouts, they do not detect the enemy from a one hundred meter radius from our objective. But that does not detract from my concern."

"What is it?" asked Lessenia with a quizzical tone as she put her helm back on.

Don'da peeked over cover and peered through his Long Rifle. Lessenia watched as the Pathfinder carefully scanned the area with his acute eye. The Pathfinder withdrew his rifle and turned back to his commander.

"Perhaps it is just my own thoughts, Commander. I apologize for my trivial misgivings."

"You may speak freely, Pathfinder Don'da. Please share your thoughts."

The Pathfinder looked over the facade again and then focused back to Lessenia. Lessenia could see though the Don'da's concealed mask that he was trying to formulate his own apprehensions.

"For some reason Exarch Lessenia, I feel an increase of psychic-driven activity towards our target. I did not want to share it when we were in a group, because I expected everyone felt the same way I did. It is very unsettling."

"I am no Farseer," continued the Pathfinder, "but there is something dark and dangerous in that structure. I have hunch that this is no munitions depot or something significant to the Imperials, but rather something close to servants of Chaos. Again, these are only predictions driven by intuition, so whatever I may say cannot be backed up with any proof."

Lessenia admitted to herself that she felt an increase of warp activity charging through the atmosphere. Although there was no ominous cloud that foretold it, something was well hidden under the eyes of the Eldar. What could it be? Could it be Ahriman? Could it be a Chaos conversion sight for heretics? Why did the Autarch or Farseer not mention this in the tactical briefing? Unfortunately, no amount of answers could amount the same as answers. Lessenia knew she had no choice but to get a closer look.

"Alright, let us proceed then. Pathfinder, I want you to cover our rear as we investigate this structure. I share your apprehensions and its logic is sound, Don'da, but I am afraid we will not know unless we discover this ourselves. For the time being, I will need to have your scouts at their very best. If we are under attack, then we must pull out to the nearest gateway back."

"Yes, Exarch. I understand. Thank you for listening."

"Thank you for sharing, Pathfinder. It is important to hear other people's perceptions of a given situation."

The Pathfinder was silent, but comprehend. Lessenia then told Hil'da to notify the rest of the force and had them gather where she was. Once she acknowledged her order, she made a quick telepathic message to Vaclai.

"Exarch Vaclai, my forces are about to take over this last objective. How goes your mission?"

"We have just destroyed the destroyed the last depot in our sector and the enemy's jamming device in the communications tower. My forces are about to pull out now; I am done with this city."

"I understand. May Isha safeguard your passage, Exarch Vaclai."

"And to you as well, Exarch Lessenia," ended Vaclai, "contact me as soon as you have finished the mission."

Lessenia trotted down the rubble doodad with the Pathfinder. Her force began to assemble near the base of the ramp, but Lessenia gestured for the group to follow them. She led her force closer to their objective and then huddled in a large crater to avoid suspicious enemy observers. The artillery still rained and shook the earth as they rallied in the large crater. Uansi was first to speak in the midst of distant explosions and ground-breaking noises.

"That is the last objective?" asked a skeptical Uansi. Lessenia wished he knew better than to judge something by its cover. Then again, it was a very deceiving image.

"Yes, it is the last one. But do not be tempted by its outward appearance, Uansi," bemused Lessenia, "there could be something of great value inside. All of you are aware that the topography now is very different from our past targets. It is riddled with crater holes, which makes it an ideal enemy trap."

"So we can deduce that there is very little to maneuver," concluded Uansi, "thus making our relative easy withdrawal impended by it."

"Correct, so we must tread lightly in this endeavor. I have ordered Pathfinder Don'da to watch for any enemy movement as we investigate this objective," continued Lessenia, "Uansi and Hu'daon, you and your warriors shall accompany me. I am afraid this is a relatively straightforward plan, since we have no notion what is ahead of us. Are there any questions before we go?"

"So what happens if this is a trap, Exarch Lessenia?" asked a Dying Avenger. A few murmurs and nods of agreement were heard among the Eldar warriors. Lessenia feared that question would be asked.

"I am afraid if this is indeed a trap, then we must get out as fast as we can. We cannot have our presence be discovered by any faction present in this city. I am afraid there is no better answer than that, Avenger," replied Lessenia, who then took out _Executioner_.

"All right, it is time. May Khaela Mensha Khaine watch over you, my fellow sisters and brothers. If we succeed, then our chances of victory against the Ahriman and his malicious intentions will be better," concluded Lessenia as she stood up, poised with her glaive in her hand.

The warriors around her stood up and felt shared emotions amongst themselves in their belief of victory. Lessenia felt a great warmth surge through her body as everyone felt the same sensation of boosted confidence. The sun pierced through the clouds to the east and the entire location bathed in the warm sunlight. Lessenia briefly observed the phenomenon, but soon turned her focus back on the ground.

"Exarch Uansi," said Lessenia.

"Yes, Exarch Lessenia?"

"You are on point. The rest of you, follow his lead."

The Scorpions led the way as the Banshees, Avengers and Guardians followed closely behind. As they scaled over the crater hole and on to ground level, Lessenia quickly turned back to Pathfinder for a last-minute instruction.

"Pathfinder, notify us of any sort movement in the area. If you are spotted, at all, retreat to the nearest gateway without delay."

Don'da looked a bit surprised by her order, even through the hood and mask he wore. Lessenia knew he was not pleased with her order and expected a questioning response to follow. She was right.

"Are you sure, Exarch Lessenia? Forgive me, but you will be out there with no outside support! I find it a disgrace to myself to not be present if you were in a horrible predicament! I want to be at your side to the end!" exasperated the Pathfinder.

Lessenia had a grim expression under her mask. She placed a reassuring hand on the shoulder of the disconcerted Pathfinder and spoke probably the last words either of them would hear.

"In the midst of war, we must make difficult decisions and sacrifices. Everyone will feel it, because we all share the burden of survival. I want everyone to come out of this operation alive. I thank Isha that we have lost no one up to this point, but I know we will lose an Eldar today," explained Lessenia.

"We must follow our hearts and minds to prepare for the better or for the worse. However in this universe of endless war, we cannot habitually hope for the better, but only for the worse."


	18. Chapter 18

Cheers, everyone. I thank you for you patience. Please enjoy. -

Best-

Warmaster23

* * *

Chapter 18: Shock and Awe

Wolf bludgeoned another enemy to the time; it was probably his twentieth kill in the duration of ten minutes. With no sense of any merciful outlook, the Watchmaster took a shot from his pistol to the head of his downed opponent. He observed his surroundings ssand continued to push up the steep and heavily pockmarked terrain of Saint Agatha. With the amount of gear he was encumbered, Wolf felt his pace and intensity slowed down.

There was no doubt that the Grenadier companies have paid a high price for their breakthrough. Several squads were annihilated in a matter of a several hours. Wolf himself lost three squad members through various means; a sniper killed Private Klattenberg, Lance Corporal Mautefen was torn to shreds by friendly fire, and Private Kolnan bled out from an abdominal wound. The dead Imperials densely covered the battlefield every square inch. However, true to the doctrine of the Death Korps, the application of manpower favored over intricate and dainty tactics in this grisly urban environment.

Every resistance grew as the Korps limped forward to the shrine. Pockets of resistance occupied and fortified them that they acted as independent redoubts. Even when artillery from the Death Korps struck home on one of the buildings, the enemy managed to construct impassible position. The Death Korps regardless continued to steamroll and grind the enemy to submission.

The planning and execution in city fighting was often inflexible due to many variables. The dilapidated topography and dense infrastructure of an urban city offered chances to succeed or utter failure. The mental state of every soldier fighting in these appalling conditions were also factored in as well. It is a reciprocating relationship between the attacker and defender. However, the Death Korps had no notion of fanciful or flamboyant tactics and this type of warfare suited them like a

Strangely enough, vox communications came back to life as battle orders and tactical information filled through every Imperial vox caster. Whatever was jamming the signal no longer impeded the progress of the Imperial offensive. The news of the Fourth and Seventh Armies reached the ears to the First Line Korps that various vanguards were inbound on their location. The first to announce their arrival was one from the Seventh Army.

_"To any Imperial Guard units in the area, this is Captain Grimyoski of the Twentieth Vostroyan Company. My men are being deployed by air from the north. My regiment is en route to secure the northern districts. Praise the Emperor."_

In typical fashion, the Death Korps did not reply directly to the Vostroyans. There orders were to destroy the enemy hold of the city and nothing more. As inflexible as it may sound, they have dogged focus to achieve the objective. Wolf continued one as planned along of the main road that led to the central plaza. Various patterns of Leman Russ Tanks slowly maneuvered their way through the obstacle-ridden road. These patterns lacked the weapon sponsor systems that were usually integrated with the lead Leman Russ chassis. The tanks had to be supported by the infantry to tackle opponents that were considered minnows to their heavy armament.

The lead Leman Russ tank exploded with an incredible force that bits of flying hellish-hot metal scored everything around it. A few grenadiers were severely wounded by the aftermath and the tank advanced continued on. Wolf saw the tank's destruction and realized the enemy position was not too far away. There was also a high chance that they carried some sort of anti-tank or material piece as well.

Fifth Squad maneuvered though the dense maze of rubble and while they were, there were several instances where they brushed against huge piles of decomposed bodies. Wolf took no heed of it, but remembered the situational similarities between this and booby-trapped bodies many weeks ago. However, there was little time and Wolf continued on. Fortunately, the bodies did not go off, but that did not mean every pile of dead in the city was not tagged with a proximity mine.

A great discharge was heard just over the hill of rubble. Wolf knew the position was ahead and without a word, he took a grenade out of his belt. He told his squad to hold position as he gestured Kurt to follow him. Quietly, Wolf and Kurt poked their heads out and saw the enemy's position. Camouflage netting was set up fool the eyes of Imperial aircraft covered the position. Sandbags and plates of metal were in place, which offered a decent amount of protection. There was a depression that separated Wolf and the enemy's position, which was a slight advantage to the enemy position. He estimated that the distance between them was about thirty meters and the ground before them lacked any sort of cover.

"Look, sir," noted Kurt, "these bastards do not have any sort of defensive capabilities other than small-arms."

"Indeed," agreed Wolf as he formulated a plan, "but that does not mean they will not be ready. The lack of cover between them and us probably justifies their reason why a weapons emplacement is unnecessary."

"Mines, Watchmaster?"

"Unknown," admitted Wolf, "and we cannot wait for the engineers."

The Watchmaster then faced the other members of the squad, who were ready to comply with his orders.

"Watchmaster Kurt," said Wolf as he lofted a photon grenade to Kurt's open hands, "time to go." Under his helm, Kurt grimly smiled.

"Aye sir," answered Kurt, "Private Gottmar and Lance Corporal Dokemn, with me!"

"Covering firing!" yelled Wolf as Kurt and his team raced down the hill. Without further ado, Wolf and the rest of the squad fired as far as the hellguns' cooling systems were capable. The enemy shifted their focus to the barrage of firing with gusto. Wolf took cover briefly and returned fire when his hellgun cooled. Flecks and splashes of rubble splashed into his face as he buried his face. He stood up and unleashed the remaining available power in the direction of the traitors. Wolf then proceeded to take a melta bomb out of his canvas bag and waited.

While the others took turns firing, Wolf poked his head out of cover and saw Kurt and his team had reached safely at the position's base. The enemy did not notice there was an assault team waiting to storm the position. The team chucked grenades over the position and propped their backs against the rubble.

"Shield eyes!" warned Wolf, just before a searing flash of light emerged within fifteen-meter radius. After that, two explosions rocked the position followed by screams and yells of the enemy. After a millisecond, Wolf recovered from the blast and hustled over to the smoking objective. The team was already at the top of the position and thoroughly eliminated any survivors or escaping traitors. Wolf turned the switch and stuffed it inside the barrel of the captured cannon. After about three seconds, a small implosion of a volatile fusion reaction melted the barrel into a molten slag. The remaining members of Fifth Squad scanned and double-checked on any mangled bodies of the dead.

"Position secured, sir," said his second-in-command as he relaxed his stance. Wolf said nothing as he led his squad back to the killing ground.

"Keep an eye out for anything," replied Wolf nonchalantly, "we are not out of the woods yet."

"Sir! I have a call from an Imperial source," announced Lance Corporal Greisz, who had the vox machine, "the frequency is of Astartes origin; it is the Iron Swords Chapter!"

"Put them through," said Wolf as he activated his personal vox, "this is Watchmaster Klaus of the Grenadiers; how may I be of service."

"Very impressive son of Krieg," came a grated and automated voice, "we have observed from a distance as you coordinated that fine piece of tactical play."

"My lord," addressed Wolf, who obviously ignored the unexpected praise, "to whom am I addressing?"

"I am Veteran Sergeant Septimus of the Iron Swords," replied the Astartes through the buzz of the vox, "we are at your right flank."

Wolf turned and saw the sight. A squad of nine burnt grey giants hustled out amidst the forest of ruin. They were true to the legends of the famed Astartes, the most loyal servants to the Emperor. They all carried menacing-looking weapons that ranged from the bolter to the extremely lethal plasma cannon. All of the Astartes had a white helmet with a black laurel painted around the helmet bands; they represented the finest of their chapter. They were the First Company of the Iron Swords.

The lead Astartes looked very similar to his counterparts, but he had some regalia to denote his position. He had twin-linked bolter and a power sword at his hip. Pouches of ammunition and explosives were hooked and clipped on his belt and chest. Unlike the other Astartes, he had an attached black crest on his helmet that symbolized his advanced position within ranks of the Veterans.

Wolf's squad had their weapons at the ready, but remained at a distance as their Watchmaster marched over to greet the Astartes. The distance between the two parties was close enough for Wolf and the Astartes to cover ground quickly in the middle of battle. Wolf maintained a good distance away from the lead Astartes, but he still felt the overwhelming and herculean presence of this Angel of Death. He erected his back and saluted crisply

"My lord, Watchmaster Wolfram Klaus of the Grenadier Company reporting," began Wolf. The giant set aside his storm bolter and nodded appreciatively at the gesture.

"Well met, Hammer of the Emperor," replied Septimus as he hefted his massive weapon, "how goes the offensive?"

"My lord, the First Line Kops is committed en masse," explained Wolf, "the Korps is pushing forward to the shrine. Resistance has varied throughout the districts, but it in this area it has remained consistent."

"I see, but I fear, son of Krieg, that will soon change," pointed Septimus to the sky. Wolf looked up and saw it. Through the bluish-grey atmosphere, multiple black dots emerged from the cirrus clouds. Within seconds, they grew larger and larger until Septimus reflexively handled his weapon in anticipation. Wolf lacked the Space Marine's eyes, but by his stance these new arrivals were not allies. These fat pods screamed down towards to surface with claws protruding out from the bottom. More and more continued to pierce the atmosphere with gathering pace. Septimus turned away and turned to face Wolf, who knew who these new arrivals were.

"Well, son of Krieg, we are called backed to war," said Septimus as he returned with his squad, "good hunting and may the Emperor protect."

"My lord," closed off Wolf. He turned and returned back to his squad, who were also aware of newcomer's arrival. Greisz was chatting into his vox-caster, no doubt alerting every squad, platoon, and company. Once he was finished, Wolf gathered his men in grim preparation. He turned to Watchmaster Kurt, who readied his hellgun in morbid anticipation.

"Watchmaster Kurt, are you ready to be absolved of our sins?"

"Aye, Watchmaster," answered Kurt as the squad moved towards the fight, "that we are."

* * *

This was not Lessenia had expected. The lone structure was bare and empty. It felt more of an underground bunker, due to the lack of natural light, but it was built on level ground. There was a small bevel above the entranceway that allowed a sliver of light to enter. The structure's outward appearance seemed to clamp down on Lessenia's earlier words with Uansi. Her strike force completely covered over half of the area. However, the Banshee was stumped that of all buildings in this forsaken city that this structure survived it all?

Footsteps echoed inside the room as the Eldar milled around. Lessenia began to search around the low-light interior or any sign of something unusual. Her helm's viewports readjusted automatically to the new setting, which offered a lime green visage. Hu'daon, Uansi, and Hil'da assisted in her search.

"A mysterious structure undamaged in a battle's climax certainly warrants attention," observed Uansi as he scanned the walls for the second time, "but Pathfinder Don'da was right, there is a great unknown power inherent."

Lessenia mused at that thought, but immediately wondered how Pathfinder Don'da was handling himself. She was positive that he would do a fine, even when she made a difficult decision. The omnipresent feeling was not of the tainted and filth-ridden energies of the Warp, but it was a raw and blistering. Lessenia shook at that thought, because she knew that Don'da was very capable to manage himself behind enemy lines.

"The Farseer did not mention or reveal any sort of reliquaries in this city, let alone the continent," said Lessenia as she took her helmet off, "but it would not be the first time the game of secrecy played itself out."

Silence followed as the vain search slowly convinced many of the Eldar that there was nothing of value present. However, Hil'da began a series of steps on the stone floor. The stone floor was cut into tiles, which seemed rooted to its place. Hil'da traced her steps back and forth from the back wall to the center of the wall. Her eyes were focused on the ground, which attracted attention to some of the more perceptive warriors. After a few moments, Hil'da stopped on a section of the floor and wiggled her right foot on top of it. She felt something.

"My Exarch, this tile is not secured," announced Hil'da. The Eldar gathered around in interest as Lessenia and the Exarches made their way to Hil'da's position. She stepped and tile, wiggled her it, which at first deceived by its apparent state. It was a subtle sensation, but the chances to find something of value underneath it were extremely rare. After all, it could just be a loose tile. Regardless, Lessenia realized that there was a possibility.

She crouched down and attempted to lift the tile from its place. It was heavy, but she managed to lift it out of place. The other Exarches moved to assist, but Lessenia shook her head as she gritted her teeth. She then gave a last heave and pushed the tile well out of its place and on to the floor. All the Eldar gave an approving nod to Hil'da while some patted her shoulder to show their appreciation to her effort. Uansi peered through the empty square.

"There is a stairway underneath," said Uansi, "but it there is no end in sight."

"Either way, we do not have a lot of time," reminded Lessenia who stood up and clasped her helmet into place, "we must unravel the mystery." All of the Eldar in the room readied their weapons. Lessenia stood tall and erect and gazed upon the warriors who stood before her with quiet expectation.

"Warriors, we are about to enter the unknown," began Lessenia, "the Banshees and Scorpions will be the advance guard while the Hu'daon's group will cover the rear. The reason being is because we should anticipate cramped quarters underground."

"We clearly have not prepared for this occasion, so I ask every single one of you to be on your guard," concluded the Banshee, "Uansi, lead on."

"With pleasure, Lessenia."

The Banshees and Scorpions proceeded forward down the dark passageway. Lessenia settled herself next to Hil'da as she gave her second-in-command a pat on the shoulder. Hil'da was aware of it, but decided to be discreet in her response. The Guardians and Avengers followed behind and Hu'daon ordered a few of warriors to place the stone back in its original state. Light slowly disappeared from the backs of the venturing Eldar. Once the light was gone, the ocular systems of every helm acclimatized to the new setting.

A hazy, green visage appeared before the eyes of the Banshee Exarch, who continued down the long stretch of stone steps. She took the time to gaze upon the cramped, but sizable hallway. The width of the corridor was sizable for two bodies side-by-side. There were times when the Eldar had to move in a single file due to the randomness of the passageway's walls. The ceiling above became more special as the party journeyed deeper into the womb. It was a very plain and boring journey for Lessenia's band of warriors.

About ten minutes of walking, the party approached to the end. There was no light as the party spread themselves out. The transition from the hallway's compactness to the more broad and open chamber was welcoming. The warriors continued to ever be watchful and aware of the new surroundings. Lessenia looked all over the special chamber and saw a change of face about this room. It was unlike the crude and rugged walls from the passageway. Tall and sharp geometrized columns were erected in place. There were two sets of them on each side. The ground no longer comprised of stonework and was replaced by sand.

Lessenia could not identify the architectural origins of this place. Even from her earliest studies the structural aesthetics confounded her. It was not of Eldar origin, or at least it did not appear to be so. She nevertheless continued on to with her inspection of this strange set. Her party milled around the place just as Lessenia came across at the end of the chamber something that was quite out of the ordinary.

There was another entryway to the opposite side and in place was a huge and towering piece of sculpture. The entrance to the next room filled to the top of the room, which stood about ten meters in height and had a width by three meters. The stone sculpture was a snug fit inside the doorway. Lessenia meticulously made her way from bottom to top. It was a no doubt a figure of great importance; the incredibly details and ornamentation were overwhelming to gaze upon. The figure had its hands rested on the pommel of the finely carved sword, which appeared very familiar to Lessenia's memory. Suddenly, Lessenia had a grim foreshadowing of this statue's identity. Her eyes continued up past the broad and muscular torso and made contact with the figure's gaze. She almost dropped _Executioner_ in wake of this great and terrible figure.

The eyes of the statue were purely battle-driven. Its facial muscles contorted and its mouth in a raging cry. The powerful facial decorations pierced Lessenia visually and mentally. Detailed, but distinct Eldar heraldry also made the face of this powerful monster come alive. The eyes, however, was stopped Lessenia dead in her tracks. Pure hatred and bloodlust was evident in its eyes, even though they were carved out of stone. The Exarch Banshee finally realized that the sculpture before was the Avatar of the God of War, Khaela Mensha Khaine. She felt the sudden urge to kneel down before the idol. The other Eldar recognized it too and immediately fell before their knees and genuflected.

A sudden surge of intense psychic energy filled through the veins of the Banshee Exarch. It burned her mind and her nerves, which forced her to drop _Executioner_. The weapon settled gently in the sand, but the Eldar took notice her unusual behavior. Bloodlust and rage filled the senses of Lessenia, who feel on her knees before the sculpture. She was lost now. Her own conscious seemed to evaporate into thin air wand was replaced by the conscious of a God. Millions of years of conflict and war appeared before Lessenia as she became locked in a tsunami of violence and unholy fury. A cruel and gritty voice spoke in the tongue of ancient Eldar lexicon.

"_We recognize thee. Thou art one of us. War calls to thee. It calls." _

"Lessenia, what is going on?" asked a worried Uansi who knelt next to her.

"My Exarch!" cried Hil'da who rushed over to her leader's side.

Lessenia said nothing, for she was stripped of her own voice and conscious. The possessed Exarch turned to her head and faced the Avatar's gaze. Whispers were heard in the chamber as the assembled Eldar warriors turned and searched for the unknown source. A sudden red illumination emerged throughout the deco and intricate web work of the sculpture.

The illumination was so diaphanous that the entire chamber and its occupants were bathed in it. The Eldar were fazed the powerful light and shielded their eyes the best they could. Lessenia's eyes responded to the statue's awakening when her eyes, too, glowed in saturated red. Her forehead tattoo of the Alaitoc shone blood red, as well. She gritted her teeth and suddenly threw her back out when the unstoppable power became too much for her to handle. Lessenia submitted to the power with open arms.

* * *

The Banshee in ecstasy felt the power and the image of Khaine emerged from ground like lava bursting from a planet's crust. The image of Khaine himself made Lessenia wilt in fear. The God stood before her, tens of meters tall with a molten sword in its hand. The blood of Eldanesh enameled his hands like a thick and viscous syrup. Lessenia removed her helm before his presence and immediately felt her entire body permeated of sweat. She could bear herself to stand up before this awesome deity.

"_Rise." _

The voice came out like a river of lava emerged from the surface and slowly made its way down. Without a second thought, Lessenia genuflected to the face of Khaine and erected her back. The giant did not respond. However, what happened next surprised Lessenia. The titan slowly fell on one knee, which Lessenia took a few steps back in response. Surprisingly, the agonizing heat did not vaporize her. The face of Khaine was only a few meters away from her as he leaned close. The Exarch Banshee felt every part of her self broke before the God of War. The heat was unusually bearable at close proximity.

"_Step onto my hand my daughter," _came the voice of Khaine.

Khaine's mouth was still in the midst of a violet rage, but his command came out like a hushed whisper. Lessenia slightly hesitated at the prospect of being burned alive on the baking bloody hand of a God. Without a word, she stepped onto the palm of Khaine's outstretched hand and was relieved to not be burned to a crisp. She rose from the ground swiftly and was carried off by Khaine to the unknown. Wherever Khaine stepped, he left a trail of molten footprints. Lessenia shifted glances between Khaine, who took no notice of her stares, and to the unknown ahead. Everywhere around the pair was pitch black.

After some time, Lessenia had the courage to approach the God of War.

"Ancient One," began Lessenia, "forgive my inquisitiveness, but where are we going?" There was a long pause before Khaine spoke again.

"_To war." _

Confused, Lessenia saw nothing in the distance

"There is nothing ahead…" said Lessenia, but she stopped mid-sentence. She then paused and decided to reply with hindsight.

"I retract my answer, Ancient One, for I initially misunderstood. You mean that where my mind and fate are ultimately destined to?"

Another pause.

"_Yes, you are correct."_

"Then but why, Kaela Mensha Khaine, did you take me away?"

Khaine stopped in his tracks suddenly and stared intently into the darkness. Unfortunately for Lessenia, there was nothing there to behold. Without a word, Khaine gently brought Lessenia back to the ground, which the Exarch was confused by his action. She did not say anything as he descended from his outstretched palm and returned to level ground. The darkness still bore no sight beyond it.

"_I cannot tell you why, for occurrences have not fully revealed themselves in an opportune time. The forces of time and destiny will follow and soon you will understand why I approached you. As the blood spills forth and corpses multiply, the highest call of duty is reserved for those who can take that responsibility."_

Khaine knelt close to Lessenia and tapped his massive finger on the small spirit stone on her breast. Lessenia swore she felt something very energetic surge through her body upon contact.

_"The answers you seek lie within your own spirit and self, my daughter. It will be up to you to find out what they are."_

"Why me? Why speak in riddles! I do not understand!" exclaimed the disconcerted Banshee.

"_I do not expect you too, my daughter," _coaxed the Avatar as he slowly backed away from her, _"we shall meet again."_

"Where are you going Ancient One? Please do not leave me! I have questions to be asked!" reached out Lessenia to the retreating God.

"_Fear not, young one. Questions will be answered and answers shall be broken. Farewell Lessenia Altra'ic, you must return."_

His voice faded, but it echoed in her mind. Suddenly Lessenia's heart pumped faster and then experienced another convulsion. Her eyes beamed with blood red light as her body and soul experienced another violent frenzy.

* * *

"Lessenia! Can you hear me?" called an exasperated Uansi, "please wake up!"

Lessenia opened and fluttered her eyes. She was no longer in the chamber but in one next. Exarches Uansi and Hu'daon were at her side and Hil'da was directly in front. The dazed Banshee turned her head in confusion and felt hard place behind her. She looked around and realized that she was propped up against a pillar in this vast space.

"Thank Isha! We have feared the worst!" cried the relieved Scorpion.

"Are you alright, Exarch Lessenia?" inquired Hu'daon, whose calm tone betrayed his inherent concern.

Groggily, she attempted to bring herself up to her feet. The effects of the apparition were still strong as she stumbled on the soft sand. Uansi and Hu'daon steadied with her weak arms. Lessenia stood tall once again, strong and purposeful in her self. Hil'da seemed to have read her mind.

"When you heaved what appeared to be your last breath, the statue was brought forth by unknown means. You were still out when we tried to wake you, but we feared the worst. We carried you here to the next chamber and had to wait for you to emerge from whatever you were experiencing," said a quivering Hil'da. She reflexively massaged her arms.

Lessenia was still silent, but became aware that she did not have helmet. A Dire Avenger gave her helm to Hil'da who then gave it to Lessenia.

"We took off your helm for your well-being," explained Uansi, "again, we have feared the worst."

Lessenia nodded and without a word, graciously accepted the helm and locked it back in place.

"What happened, Lessenia?" continued Uansi.

"I do not know," whispered Lessenia as she continued to set her bearings straight, "have you felt it?"

"I am afraid not, whatever you have felt must been reserved for you?" replied Hu'daon.

"It…is too complicated to explain," said the Banshee with effort, "what lies in this chamber?"

"That, my Exarch," pointed Hil'da. She pointed to small pedestal in the middle of the chamber. Light emerged from a small bevel directly above. On top of the pedestal was a medium-sized box, but Lessenia was too far away to accurately take in the information.

Without a word, Lessenia quickly made her way to the pedestal. The other Eldar followed her steps, but Uansi, Hu'daon and Hil'da briskly made their way. As she got closer, she made the details. It was black, but smooth and refined stone that pieces of wraithbone attached to it. The pedestal was rectangular that stood about to Lessenia's chest height. Before her was the source of the mystery.

There was nothing special about the box; the box itself was a favorably small. It was made of wraithbone, but Lessenia took no thought about the chest's aesthetic. She weighed the box and felt a weighted presence inside. Without further ado, she unlocked the double-latched box and opened it. Lessenia was taken back the box's contents. It was a sprit stone, an actual Eldar spirit stone. She took out the stone and inspected it.

It was beautifully designed stone, which wraithbone deco all over. The intricate, web-like formation was a work of art, along with the icon of the Alaitoc. Lessenia looked closely at the precious stone and saw a brewing cloud inside.

"A dormant spirit stone?" thought Lessenia.

"What is it, Lessenia?" asked Uansi as he approached.

"It is a spirit stone."

"A spirit stone? In a box, beyond the protection of the Infinity Circuit?" continued an incredulous Uansi.

"Truth be told, yes."

"Is there any identification?" questioned Hu'daon.

"Ah, yes, here we are," said Lessenia as flipped the stone to an ancient Eldar description. It was a very old form of the Eldar lexicon, but it was comprehensible to Lessenia. Lessenia felt her knees buckle and her heart squeezed. All of a sudden, a quick but sharp headache poked her fragile mind. To her credit the stone was still in her hands.

"Isha save us," mumbled Lessenia, "Isha save us."

"What is troubling you? Come now, Lessenia, get a hold of yourself!" said Uansi.

"This stone…belongs to…" intoned gravely Lessenia as she held the stone to eye level, "Alai'Kein." She struggled to spit the name out.

"What?" exclaimed Hu'daon and Uansi. Their response was so loud that all of the Eldar warriors took heed.

"There is not fault; the stone…belongs to…Alai'Kein," repeated Lessenia, "the key to unlock the dormant berserker from ten millennia ago lies in our very hands." The three Exarches looked at the stone with widened eyes and renewed consternation.

"Isha save us all," said Uansi.


End file.
